Nobel Award Honors Pioneering Body's Defenses Discoveries
The prestigious award in medical science was awarded for transformative findings that clarify how the body's defense network attacks dangerous infections while sparing the healthy tissues.
A trio of esteemed scientists—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and American scientists Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—share this accolade.
Their work uncovered unique "sentinels" within the immune system that eliminate malfunctioning immune cells capable of attacking the organism.
The discoveries are now enabling innovative treatments for immune disorders and malignancies.
These laureates will share a monetary award valued at 11m Swedish kronor.
Crucial Findings
"Their work has been decisive for comprehending how the body's defenses operates and why we do not all develop severe self-attack conditions," commented the head of the award panel.
This team's studies explain a fundamental question: In what way does the immune system protect us from countless infections while leaving our own tissues intact?
The immune system employs immune cells that scan for indicators of disease, even pathogens and bacteria it has not met before.
These defenders utilize sensors—known as recognition units—that are generated by chance in a vast number of combinations.
That gives the defense network the capacity to fight a broad range of threats, but the unpredictability of the process unavoidably produces immune cells that can target the body.
Security Guards of the Immune System
Scientists previously understood that some of these harmful white blood cells were eliminated in the thymus—where white blood cells mature.
The latest award honors the discovery of T-reg cells—known as the immune system's "security guards"—which travel through the system to neutralize other immune cells that attack the healthy cells.
It is known that this process fails in autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
A Nobel panel stated, "The discoveries have established a novel area of investigation and accelerated the development of new therapies, for instance for tumors and autoimmune diseases."
Regarding malignancies, regulatory T-cells prevent the system from fighting the tumor, so studies are aimed at lowering their quantity.
For self-attack disorders, trials are exploring increasing T-reg cells so the organism is not under attack. A similar approach could also be effective in reducing the chances of organ transplant rejection.
Pioneering Experiments
Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, performed experiments on mice that had their immune gland removed, leading to autoimmune disease.
He demonstrated that injecting defense cells from healthy mice could stop the illness—implying there was a mechanism for preventing immune cells from harming the body.
Mary Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Fred Ramsdell, now at a biotech firm in a California city, were studying an inherited immune disorder in mice and people that resulted in the identification of a gene critical for the way T-regs operate.
"Their groundbreaking research has uncovered how the immune system is controlled by T-reg cells, stopping it from accidentally targeting the healthy cells," said a prominent physiology specialist.
"This research is a striking example of how basic biological research can have far-reaching consequences for human health."
