The Nobel Prize in medical science has been granted for revolutionary discoveries that illuminate how the body's defense network targets harmful pathogens while protecting the body's own cells.
Three renowned researchers—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and American scientists Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this honor.
Their research uncovered specialized "sentinels" within the defense system that remove malfunctioning immune cells capable of harming the body.
The findings are now enabling new treatments for immune disorders and cancer.
These laureates will share a prize fund worth 11 million SEK.
Crucial Findings
"Their research has been decisive for comprehending how the body's defenses operates and why we don't all develop severe self-attack conditions," commented the head of the Nobel Committee.
The trio's studies explain a fundamental question: How does the immune system protect us from countless invaders while keeping our own tissues intact?
The body's protection system uses immune cells that scan for signs of infection, even viruses and germs it has not met before.
These defenders utilize detectors—called receptors—that are generated by chance in a vast number of combinations.
This gives the immune system the capacity to fight a broad range of invaders, but the unpredictability of the mechanism inevitably produces immune cells that may attack the host.
Security Guards of the Body
Researchers previously understood that some of these problematic white blood cells were destroyed in the thymus—the site where immune cells mature.
The latest award recognizes the discovery of regulatory T-cells—known as the body's "security guards"—which travel through the body to neutralize other defenders that assault the healthy cells.
It is known that this mechanism malfunctions in self-attack conditions such as type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.
The Nobel panel stated, "The discoveries have laid the foundation for a new field of investigation and spurred the creation of new therapies, for instance for tumors and immune disorders."
In cancer, T-regs prevent the system from attacking the tumor, so studies are focused on lowering their quantity.
In autoimmune diseases, trials are exploring boosting regulatory T-cells so the body is not being harmed. A comparable method could also be useful in reducing the risks of transplanted organ rejection.
Pioneering Experiments
Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, conducted tests on rodents that had their thymus extracted, leading to autoimmune disease.
The researcher showed that introducing defense cells from other animals could stop the disease—implying there was a system for blocking immune cells from harming the body.
Dr. Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were studying an genetic autoimmune disease in mice and humans that resulted in the discovery of a gene vital for the way regulatory T-cells function.
"Their groundbreaking work has uncovered how the immune system is kept in check by regulatory T cells, stopping it from mistakenly attacking the healthy cells," commented a prominent biological science expert.
"The work is a striking illustration of how fundamental biological research can have broad implications for public health."
