Nobel Prize Honors Pioneering Body's Defenses Discoveries

This year's prestigious award in medical science has been awarded for transformative findings that illuminate how the immune system targets dangerous infections while sparing the healthy tissues.

A trio of renowned scientists—from Japan Shimon Sakaguchi and US experts Dr. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this honor.

Their research identified specialized "security guards" within the immune system that eliminate malfunctioning defense cells that could harming the organism.

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

The laureates will divide a monetary award worth 11 million Swedish kronor.

Crucial Discoveries

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

The team's research explain a fundamental mystery: In what way does the immune system defend us from countless invaders while keeping our own tissues unharmed?

The immune system uses immune cells that scan for indicators of infection, even pathogens and bacteria it has never encountered.

Such cells employ detectors—known as receptors—that are generated randomly in countless combinations.

This gives the immune system the ability to combat a wide array of invaders, but the randomness of the mechanism inevitably produces white blood cells that may attack the body.

Security Guards of the Immune System

Scientists earlier knew that a portion of these problematic white blood cells were eliminated in the immune organ—where white blood cells mature.

The latest award recognizes the discovery of regulatory T-cells—described as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which patrol the system to neutralize any immune cells that assault the healthy cells.

We know that this process malfunctions in autoimmune diseases such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis.

The Nobel panel stated, "The findings have established a new field of research and spurred the creation of innovative treatments, for instance for tumors and immune disorders."

In malignancies, regulatory T-cells block the system from attacking the growth, so studies are focused on reducing their numbers.

In autoimmune diseases, trials are exploring increasing regulatory T-cells so the body is not being harmed. A similar method could also be effective in reducing the risks of transplanted organ failure.

Pioneering Experiments

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

The researcher showed that injecting defense cells from other animals could stop the disease—implying there was a mechanism for preventing defenders from attacking the body.

Dr. Brunkow, from the a research center in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in a California city, were investigating an inherited autoimmune disease in mice and humans that resulted in the discovery of a genetic factor vital for how T-regs operate.

"The pioneering research has uncovered how the body's defenses is kept in check by T-reg cells, stopping it from mistakenly targeting the healthy cells," commented a prominent biological science expert.

"This research is a striking illustration of how basic biological research can have far-reaching implications for human health."