🔗 Share this article

The prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine was granted for revolutionary findings that clarify how the immune system targets harmful pathogens while protecting the healthy tissues.

Three esteemed scientists—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and US experts Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this honor.

The work identified specialized "security guards" within the immune system that eliminate malfunctioning defense cells that could harming the organism.

The discoveries are now enabling innovative treatments for immune disorders and cancer.

These laureates will divide a monetary award worth 11 million Swedish kronor.

Decisive Discoveries

"Their work has been essential for understanding how the body's defenses operates and the reason we don't all suffer from severe autoimmune diseases," stated the chair of the Nobel Committee.

The team's research address a core question: In what way does the immune system defend us from countless invaders while leaving our healthy cells intact?

Our body's protection system uses white blood cells that scan for indicators of infection, even pathogens and germs it has never encountered.

These cells employ detectors—known as receptors—that are generated randomly in countless combinations.

That gives the immune system the ability to fight a broad range of threats, but the randomness of the mechanism unavoidably produces immune cells that can target the host.

Security Guards of the Body

Scientists earlier understood that a portion of these harmful white blood cells were eliminated in the immune organ—where white blood cells develop.

The latest award recognizes the discovery of regulatory T-cells—described as the body's "security guards"—which travel through the system to neutralize other immune cells that assault the healthy cells.

We know that this process malfunctions in autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The prize committee stated, "The discoveries have laid the foundation for a novel area of research and accelerated the development of new treatments, for instance for tumors and autoimmune diseases."

In malignancies, regulatory T-cells prevent the body from fighting the growth, so research are aimed at reducing their numbers.

In self-attack disorders, experiments are testing boosting T-reg cells so the organism is not under attack. A comparable approach could also be effective in minimizing the chances of transplanted organ rejection.

Pioneering Experiments

Professor Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, conducted tests on mice that had their thymus extracted, causing autoimmune disease.

He demonstrated that introducing immune cells from other mice could prevent the disease—implying there was a mechanism for preventing immune cells from attacking the host.

Mary Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in a California city, were studying an genetic autoimmune disease in rodents and humans that led to the discovery of a gene vital for how T-regs function.

"Their groundbreaking research has revealed how the immune system is kept in check by regulatory T cells, stopping it from mistakenly attacking the healthy cells," commented a leading biological science expert.

"The research is a striking example of how basic biological research can have far-reaching consequences for public health."