Nobel Prize Honors Groundbreaking Body's Defenses Discoveries
This year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded for revolutionary discoveries that clarify how the body's defense network attacks dangerous pathogens while protecting the healthy tissues.
Three esteemed scientists—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and American experts Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—received this honor.
Their research uncovered specialized "security guards" within the defense system that eliminate malfunctioning defense cells that could harming the body.
The discoveries are now paving the way for new treatments for autoimmune diseases and malignancies.
The winners will share a monetary award valued at 11m Swedish kronor.
Crucial Findings
"The research has been decisive for comprehending how the body's defenses functions and the reason we do not all develop severe autoimmune diseases," commented the head of the award panel.
The trio's studies explain a fundamental mystery: How does the defense system protect us from countless invaders while leaving our own tissues intact?
Our immune system employs immune cells that scan for signs of disease, including pathogens and germs it has not met before.
Such defenders utilize detectors—called receptors—that are produced randomly in countless combinations.
This gives the immune system the ability to fight a wide array of threats, but the unpredictability of the mechanism inevitably produces white blood cells that can attack the body.
Security Guards of the Body
Scientists earlier knew that some of these problematic white blood cells were destroyed in the thymus—the site where immune cells develop.
This year's Nobel Prize honors the identification of T-reg cells—known as the immune system's "peacekeepers"—which travel through the body to neutralize any defenders that assault the body's own tissues.
It is known that this mechanism malfunctions in self-attack conditions such as juvenile diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and RA.
A prize committee stated, "The discoveries have laid the foundation for a new field of research and accelerated the development of innovative treatments, for instance for cancer and immune disorders."
Regarding cancer, T-regs prevent the body from attacking the tumor, so studies are aimed at lowering their quantity.
In autoimmune diseases, trials are exploring increasing T-reg cells so the organism is no longer under attack. A similar method could also be useful in reducing the chances of transplanted organ failure.
Innovative Experiments
Prof Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, performed tests on mice that had their immune gland extracted, causing autoimmune disease.
He showed that injecting defense cells from healthy animals could prevent the illness—implying there was a system for blocking immune cells from attacking the body.
Dr. Brunkow, from the Institute for Systems Biology in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, currently at a biotech firm in a California city, were studying an inherited autoimmune disease in rodents and people that resulted in the discovery of a gene critical for the way T-regs operate.
"The pioneering research has revealed how the body's defenses is controlled by T-reg cells, stopping it from mistakenly attacking the body's own tissues," commented a leading biological science specialist.
"This research is a remarkable illustration of how fundamental biological study can have broad consequences for public health."
