Prestigious Prize Recognizes Pioneering Immune System Discoveries
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been granted for transformative findings that illuminate how the body's defense network attacks harmful infections while protecting the healthy tissues.
Three esteemed scientists—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and US experts Dr. Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—received this honor.
The work uncovered unique "security guards" within the defense system that eliminate rogue defense cells that could harming the body.
The discoveries are now enabling innovative therapies for immune disorders and malignancies.
These winners will share a prize fund worth 11 million Swedish kronor.
Decisive Findings
"The work has been essential for comprehending how the immune system functions and the reason we do not all suffer from severe autoimmune diseases," stated the head of the Nobel Committee.
The team's studies explain a fundamental mystery: In what way does the defense system defend us from numerous infections while keeping our healthy cells intact?
Our immune system employs immune cells that scan for signs of disease, including viruses and bacteria it has not met before.
Such cells employ sensors—called recognition units—that are produced by chance in a vast number of variations.
That provides the immune system the ability to combat a wide array of threats, but the unpredictability of the mechanism unavoidably creates immune cells that can attack the body.
Protectors of the Body
Scientists earlier knew that some of these problematic white blood cells were eliminated in the thymus—where immune cells mature.
The latest Nobel Prize recognizes the discovery of T-reg cells—described as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the body to disarm other immune cells that assault the healthy cells.
We know that this process fails in autoimmune diseases such as juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.
A Nobel panel added, "The discoveries have laid the foundation for a novel area of research and spurred the creation of new treatments, for example for tumors and autoimmune diseases."
In cancer, T-regs prevent the body from attacking the growth, so research are aimed at reducing their numbers.
In self-attack disorders, trials are testing boosting T-reg cells so the body is no longer being harmed. A comparable method could also be useful in reducing the chances of organ transplant rejection.
Innovative Studies
Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, performed tests on mice that had their thymus extracted, leading to autoimmune disease.
He showed that introducing immune cells from other mice could prevent the illness—suggesting there was a mechanism for preventing defenders from harming the host.
Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the a research center in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in a California city, were studying an genetic autoimmune disease in rodents and humans that resulted in the identification of a genetic factor vital for how regulatory T-cells operate.
"Their pioneering research has uncovered how the body's defenses is controlled by regulatory T cells, stopping it from accidentally targeting the body's own tissues," said a prominent physiology specialist.
"The work is a remarkable illustration of how fundamental physiological study can have broad implications for public health."
