Nobel Prize Recognizes Groundbreaking Body's Defenses Research
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was granted for revolutionary findings that illuminate how the immune system targets dangerous pathogens while sparing the body's own cells.
Three esteemed researchers—Japan's Shimon Sakaguchi and American experts Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—received this accolade.
Their research identified unique "security guards" within the immune system that eliminate rogue immune cells that could attacking the body.
The discoveries are now enabling innovative treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer.
These winners will divide a monetary award valued at 11m Swedish kronor.
Crucial Findings
"The research has been decisive for understanding how the immune system operates and the reason we don't all suffer from serious autoimmune diseases," commented the chair of the award panel.
The team's studies explain a core mystery: In what way does the immune system defend us from numerous infections while keeping our healthy cells intact?
The body's protection system employs white blood cells that search for signs of disease, even pathogens and germs it has never encountered.
These cells utilize detectors—known as recognition units—that are produced by chance in a vast number of variations.
This gives the immune system the capacity to fight a wide array of invaders, but the randomness of the mechanism unavoidably produces immune cells that can attack the body.
Security Guards of the Immune System
Scientists earlier understood that some of these harmful white blood cells were eliminated in the immune organ—the site where white blood cells mature.
The latest award honors the identification of T-reg cells—described as the immune system's "security guards"—which patrol the system to disarm any defenders that assault the body's own tissues.
We know that this process malfunctions in self-attack conditions such as juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
The prize committee stated, "These discoveries have laid the foundation for a new field of research and accelerated the creation of new therapies, for instance for cancer and immune disorders."
In cancer, T-regs block the body from fighting the tumor, so studies are focused on lowering their numbers.
In self-attack disorders, experiments are exploring increasing T-reg cells so the organism is no longer under attack. A similar method could also be useful in reducing the risks of transplanted organ rejection.
Pioneering Experiments
Prof Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, performed tests on mice that had their immune gland removed, causing self-attack conditions.
He demonstrated that introducing immune cells from other mice could stop the disease—suggesting there was a system for preventing defenders from harming the body.
Mary Brunkow, affiliated with the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in San Francisco, were investigating an inherited autoimmune disease in mice and people that resulted in the identification of a genetic factor vital for the way regulatory T-cells function.
"Their groundbreaking research has revealed how the immune system is kept in check by regulatory T cells, preventing it from mistakenly targeting the body's own tissues," said a prominent biological science expert.
"The work is a remarkable illustration of how fundamental biological research can have far-reaching implications for public health."
