Prestigious Prize Honors Groundbreaking Immune System Research
The prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for revolutionary discoveries that clarify how the body's defense network attacks dangerous infections while protecting the body's own cells.
Three esteemed researchers—Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi and US experts Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—received this honor.
The work uncovered specialized "sentinels" within the defense system that remove rogue defense cells capable of harming the body.
These findings are now enabling new therapies for immune disorders and cancer.
The laureates will share a monetary award worth 11 million SEK.
Crucial Discoveries
"Their work has been decisive for comprehending how the immune system operates and the reason we don't all suffer from severe self-attack conditions," commented the chair of the award panel.
The trio's studies address a fundamental mystery: How does the immune system protect us from numerous invaders while leaving our healthy cells intact?
The body's protection system employs white blood cells that scan for signs of disease, including pathogens and bacteria it has never encountered.
These defenders employ detectors—called receptors—that are generated randomly in a vast number of variations.
That gives the immune system the capacity to combat a broad range of threats, but the randomness of the process inevitably produces white blood cells that can attack the host.
Security Guards of the Immune System
Researchers earlier understood that a portion of these harmful white blood cells were eliminated in the thymus—the site where white blood cells develop.
The latest Nobel Prize recognizes the identification of regulatory T-cells—known as the body's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the system to disarm any immune cells that assault the body's own tissues.
It is known that this mechanism malfunctions in autoimmune diseases such as juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
The Nobel panel added, "The discoveries have laid the foundation for a novel area of research and accelerated the development of new treatments, for instance for cancer and autoimmune diseases."
In malignancies, regulatory T-cells prevent the body from attacking the growth, so research are aimed at lowering their quantity.
In autoimmune diseases, experiments are exploring increasing regulatory T-cells so the body is no longer under attack. A similar method could also be useful in reducing the risks of transplanted organ failure.
Innovative Studies
Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, performed tests on rodents that had their immune gland removed, causing autoimmune disease.
He demonstrated that introducing defense cells from other animals could stop the disease—implying there was a system for preventing defenders from attacking the body.
Dr. Brunkow, affiliated with the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were investigating an inherited autoimmune disease in rodents and people that resulted in the identification of a gene critical for the way T-regs operate.
"Their pioneering research has uncovered how the body's defenses is kept in check by T-reg cells, preventing it from accidentally attacking the healthy cells," commented a leading biological science specialist.
"The research is a striking illustration of how basic biological research can have far-reaching implications for public health."
