Nobel Prize Recognizes Pioneering Immune System Discoveries
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded for revolutionary findings that illuminate how the body's defense network targets harmful pathogens while protecting the healthy tissues.
Three renowned scientists—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and American experts Dr. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this accolade.
The work identified unique "security guards" within the defense system that eliminate malfunctioning defense cells capable of attacking the body.
These findings are now paving the way for innovative treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer.
The winners will divide a prize fund valued at 11m Swedish kronor.
Crucial Findings
"The research has been decisive for comprehending how the immune system operates and the reason we don't all suffer from severe autoimmune diseases," commented the head of the Nobel Committee.
The team's research explain a fundamental mystery: In what way does the immune system defend us from numerous infections while leaving our own tissues unharmed?
The immune system uses white blood cells that scan for signs of disease, including pathogens and germs it has never encountered.
These defenders employ detectors—called receptors—that are produced by chance in a vast number of variations.
This provides the immune system the ability to combat a wide array of threats, but the unpredictability of the mechanism inevitably creates immune cells that can attack the body.
Protectors of the Immune System
Researchers previously knew that a portion of these problematic white blood cells were eliminated in the thymus—the site where immune cells mature.
The latest Nobel Prize recognizes the identification of T-reg cells—known as the body's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the system to neutralize other defenders that attack the healthy cells.
It is known that this process malfunctions in self-attack conditions such as type-1 diabetes, MS, and RA.
A Nobel panel added, "The discoveries have laid the foundation for a novel area of investigation and accelerated the development of innovative therapies, for instance for tumors and autoimmune diseases."
Regarding malignancies, regulatory T-cells block the body from attacking the growth, so studies are aimed at lowering their quantity.
In autoimmune diseases, experiments are testing increasing T-reg cells so the organism is no longer being harmed. A similar approach could also be effective in reducing the risks of transplanted organ rejection.
Innovative Studies
Professor Sakaguchi, from a Japanese institution, performed tests on mice that had their thymus removed, leading to autoimmune disease.
The researcher showed that introducing immune cells from other animals could prevent the disease—suggesting there was a system for preventing defenders from harming the body.
Mary Brunkow, from the a research center in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were investigating an inherited immune disorder in rodents and people that led to the discovery of a genetic factor vital for the way regulatory T-cells operate.
"The pioneering research has uncovered how the immune system is controlled by T-reg cells, preventing it from accidentally attacking the body's own tissues," commented a prominent physiology specialist.
"This research is a striking example of how basic physiological study can have broad implications for human health."
