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This year's Nobel Prize in medical science has been awarded for revolutionary discoveries that illuminate how the body's defense network attacks dangerous infections while sparing the body's own cells.

A trio of renowned scientists—Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi and American scientists Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—received this honor.

The work identified specialized "sentinels" within the immune system that eliminate rogue immune cells capable of attacking the body.

These discoveries are now paving the way for new treatments for immune disorders and malignancies.

The laureates will share a prize fund valued at 11m Swedish kronor.

Decisive Discoveries

"Their work has been essential for comprehending how the body's defenses operates and why we do not all develop severe autoimmune diseases," stated the head of the award panel.

This trio's studies address a fundamental question: In what way does the defense system defend us from countless invaders while leaving our healthy cells unharmed?

The body's protection system uses immune cells that scan for indicators of disease, including pathogens and germs it has never encountered.

Such defenders employ sensors—called receptors—that are produced randomly in a vast number of variations.

That provides the immune system the ability to fight a broad range of threats, but the unpredictability of the mechanism unavoidably creates white blood cells that can target the body.

Protectors of the Immune System

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

The latest award recognizes the discovery of T-reg cells—described as the body's "security guards"—which travel through the body to disarm other defenders that attack the body's own tissues.

It is known that this mechanism malfunctions in autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The Nobel panel added, "These discoveries have laid the foundation for a new field of research and accelerated the development of innovative therapies, for example for cancer and immune disorders."

Regarding malignancies, T-regs prevent the system from fighting the tumor, so research are focused on reducing their numbers.

For autoimmune diseases, experiments are testing increasing T-reg cells so the organism is no longer under attack. A comparable approach could also be effective in minimizing the risks of organ transplant rejection.

Innovative Experiments

Prof Sakaguchi, of a Japanese institution, performed experiments on rodents that had their immune gland extracted, causing autoimmune disease.

He demonstrated that introducing immune cells from other mice could stop the illness—implying there was a system for preventing defenders from attacking the host.

Dr. Brunkow, from the a research center in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in a California city, were studying an genetic autoimmune disease in rodents and people that resulted in the identification of a genetic factor critical for the way T-regs operate.

"The pioneering work has uncovered how the immune system is kept in check by regulatory T cells, stopping it from accidentally attacking the healthy cells," said a leading physiology expert.

"This work is a remarkable example of how fundamental biological research can have broad implications for human health."