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The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was granted for transformative discoveries that illuminate how the body's defense network attacks dangerous pathogens while protecting the body's own cells.

A trio of renowned scientists—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and American scientists Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this honor.

Their work uncovered unique "sentinels" within the defense system that eliminate rogue immune cells that could attacking the organism.

These discoveries are now enabling new treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

The winners will share a monetary award valued at 11m Swedish kronor.

Crucial Discoveries

"Their work has been essential for comprehending how the body's defenses operates and the reason we do not all develop serious autoimmune diseases," commented the chair of the Nobel Committee.

This team's studies explain a core question: In what way does the defense system defend us from numerous invaders while keeping our healthy cells intact?

Our body's protection system employs white blood cells that search for indicators of disease, even pathogens and germs it has not met before.

These defenders employ sensors—called receptors—that are generated randomly in countless combinations.

This provides the defense network the ability to combat a broad range of invaders, but the randomness of the mechanism unavoidably produces white blood cells that may attack the body.

Security Guards of the Immune System

Researchers earlier knew that some of these problematic white blood cells were eliminated in the immune organ—the site where white blood cells mature.

The latest award recognizes the identification of regulatory T-cells—known as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the body to neutralize other defenders that assault the healthy cells.

It is known that this mechanism fails in self-attack conditions such as type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

A prize committee added, "These findings have laid the foundation for a novel area of investigation and spurred the development of innovative therapies, for instance for cancer and autoimmune diseases."

In cancer, T-regs prevent the system from fighting the growth, so research are focused on lowering their quantity.

In autoimmune diseases, experiments are testing increasing T-reg cells so the organism is not under attack. A comparable method could also be effective in minimizing the chances of organ transplant failure.

Pioneering Studies

Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, performed experiments on rodents that had their immune gland removed, leading to self-attack conditions.

The researcher demonstrated that injecting defense cells from healthy animals could stop the disease—suggesting there was a mechanism for blocking immune cells from attacking the host.

Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were investigating an genetic autoimmune disease in mice and humans that led to the discovery of a genetic factor vital for the way regulatory T-cells function.

"Their pioneering research has revealed how the body's defenses is controlled by T-reg cells, preventing it from accidentally attacking the body's own tissues," said a leading biological science specialist.

"This work is a remarkable illustration of how basic biological research can have broad consequences for public health."