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The Nobel Prize in medical science has been awarded for revolutionary discoveries that clarify how the body's defense network targets dangerous infections while protecting the healthy tissues.

A trio of esteemed scientists—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and US experts Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this accolade.

The research uncovered unique "security guards" within the defense system that eliminate rogue defense cells capable of harming the body.

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

The laureates will share a monetary award worth 11m Swedish kronor.

Decisive Discoveries

"Their work has been essential for understanding how the immune system functions and the reason we do not all suffer from serious self-attack conditions," commented the chair of the Nobel Committee.

This trio's research address a fundamental question: How does the defense system protect us from countless infections while keeping our healthy cells intact?

Our immune system employs white blood cells that scan for signs of infection, including viruses and bacteria it has never encountered.

These cells utilize detectors—called receptors—that are generated randomly in a vast number of combinations.

That gives the immune system the capacity to combat a wide array of threats, but the unpredictability of the process unavoidably creates immune cells that can target the body.

Security Guards of the Immune System

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

This year's Nobel Prize recognizes the identification of regulatory T-cells—known as the body's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the body to disarm any defenders that assault the healthy cells.

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

A Nobel panel stated, "The findings have established a novel area of investigation and accelerated the creation of new therapies, for instance for cancer and immune disorders."

In cancer, T-regs block the system from attacking the tumor, so research are focused on reducing their quantity.

In self-attack disorders, experiments are exploring increasing T-reg cells so the organism is not under attack. A similar approach could also be effective in minimizing the chances of transplanted organ failure.

Pioneering Experiments

Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, conducted experiments on rodents that had their thymus extracted, causing autoimmune disease.

He demonstrated that introducing immune cells from other animals could prevent the illness—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 Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were investigating an inherited autoimmune disease in mice and people that led to the discovery of a genetic factor vital for how regulatory T-cells function.

"Their pioneering work has revealed how the body's defenses is controlled by regulatory T cells, stopping it from mistakenly attacking the healthy cells," said a prominent biological science expert.

"The work is a remarkable illustration of how fundamental biological study can have far-reaching consequences for human health."