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This year's Nobel Prize in medical science has been awarded for transformative discoveries that illuminate how the body's defense network targets dangerous pathogens while sparing the healthy tissues.

Three esteemed researchers—from Japan Shimon Sakaguchi and US experts Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—received this honor.

The work uncovered unique "security guards" within the immune system that remove malfunctioning defense cells capable of attacking the body.

The discoveries are now enabling new therapies for autoimmune diseases and malignancies.

The winners will divide a monetary award worth 11 million SEK.

Decisive Findings

"The research has been essential for understanding how the immune system operates and why we do not all develop serious self-attack conditions," commented the head of the Nobel Committee.

The trio's research explain a core mystery: How does the defense system protect us from numerous invaders while leaving our own tissues intact?

Our body's protection system uses white blood cells that scan for signs of infection, including pathogens and bacteria it has not met before.

These cells utilize detectors—called recognition units—that are generated randomly in a vast number of variations.

That gives the immune system the capacity to combat a broad range of invaders, but the randomness of the mechanism inevitably produces immune cells that can target the body.

Security Guards of the Body

Scientists earlier knew that a portion of these problematic white blood cells were destroyed in the thymus—the site where white blood cells mature.

The latest Nobel Prize recognizes the identification of T-reg cells—known as the body's "security guards"—which patrol the system to neutralize any immune cells that assault the healthy cells.

It is known that this mechanism fails in self-attack conditions such as juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.

A Nobel panel added, "These discoveries have established a new field of investigation and accelerated the development of new therapies, for example for tumors and autoimmune diseases."

In cancer, regulatory T-cells block the body from fighting the tumor, so research are focused on lowering their numbers.

For autoimmune diseases, trials are exploring boosting regulatory T-cells so the organism is not being harmed. A comparable method could also be useful in reducing the risks of organ transplant failure.

Pioneering Experiments

Prof Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, performed tests on mice that had their immune gland removed, leading to autoimmune disease.

The researcher demonstrated that injecting defense cells from healthy mice could stop the illness—suggesting there was a system for preventing defenders from harming the body.

Dr. Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in San Francisco, were studying an genetic autoimmune disease in mice and people that led to the identification of a genetic factor critical for the way regulatory T-cells operate.

"The groundbreaking research has revealed how the body's defenses is kept in check by regulatory T cells, stopping it from mistakenly targeting the healthy cells," said a leading biological science specialist.

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