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The prestigious award in Physiology or Medicine was granted for revolutionary discoveries that illuminate how the immune system attacks harmful infections while sparing the healthy tissues.

A trio of renowned researchers—from Japan Shimon Sakaguchi and US experts Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this accolade.

The research identified unique "security guards" within the immune system that eliminate malfunctioning immune cells that could attacking the body.

The discoveries are now enabling innovative treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer.

These winners will share a prize fund valued at 11m Swedish kronor.

Crucial Discoveries

"The research has been decisive for comprehending how the body's defenses operates and why we do not all suffer from severe self-attack conditions," commented the head of the Nobel Committee.

The trio's studies explain a fundamental mystery: In what way does the immune system protect us from countless invaders while leaving our healthy cells unharmed?

Our body's protection system uses immune cells that scan for indicators of infection, even pathogens and germs it has not met before.

Such cells utilize sensors—called receptors—that are generated by chance in a vast number of variations.

This provides the immune system the ability to combat a wide array of threats, but the randomness of the process unavoidably creates white blood cells that may attack the host.

Protectors of the Body

Researchers previously knew that a portion of these harmful defense cells were destroyed in the thymus—where white blood cells develop.

This year's Nobel Prize honors the discovery of regulatory T-cells—known as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the system to neutralize other immune cells that assault the healthy cells.

It is known that this process malfunctions in autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.

A prize committee stated, "These discoveries have laid the foundation for a novel area of investigation and accelerated the development of new therapies, for instance for tumors and autoimmune diseases."

Regarding cancer, T-regs block the body from attacking the growth, so research are aimed at reducing their quantity.

For self-attack disorders, trials are testing increasing T-reg cells so the body is not being harmed. A similar method could also be useful in reducing the chances of transplanted organ rejection.

Innovative Studies

Prof Shimon Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, conducted experiments on rodents that had their thymus removed, leading to self-attack conditions.

He showed that introducing defense cells from other mice could stop the disease—implying there was a mechanism for blocking immune cells from attacking the host.

Mary Brunkow, from the a research center in Seattle, and Fred Ramsdell, currently at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were studying an genetic immune disorder in mice and people that resulted in the discovery of a gene vital for the way T-regs function.

"Their groundbreaking research has revealed how the body's defenses is kept in check by regulatory T cells, preventing it from mistakenly attacking the body's own tissues," said a leading biological science expert.

"The research is a remarkable example of how fundamental biological research can have far-reaching implications for human health."