Nobel Prize Honors Pioneering Immune System Discoveries
The prestigious award in medical science was awarded for revolutionary discoveries that clarify how the body's defense network attacks dangerous pathogens while protecting the body's own cells.
Three esteemed scientists—Japan's Prof. Sakaguchi and American experts Dr. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell—share this accolade.
The research identified specialized "sentinels" within the defense system that eliminate malfunctioning immune cells capable of harming the organism.
The discoveries are now paving the way for new treatments for immune disorders and cancer.
These laureates will share a prize fund worth 11m SEK.
Decisive Discoveries
"Their research has been essential for comprehending how the immune system operates and the reason we do not all suffer from serious self-attack conditions," commented the chair of the Nobel Committee.
The team's research address a fundamental question: In what way does the defense system defend us from numerous infections while leaving our own tissues intact?
The immune system employs immune cells that scan for signs of disease, even pathogens and germs it has not met before.
These cells employ sensors—known as recognition units—that are produced randomly in countless variations.
This provides the immune system the ability to fight a broad range of invaders, but the unpredictability of the process unavoidably creates immune cells that may target the host.
Protectors of the Body
Researchers earlier understood that some of these harmful defense cells were eliminated in the thymus—the site where white blood cells develop.
The latest award honors the identification of T-reg cells—known as the body's "security guards"—which travel through the system to neutralize any defenders that assault the body's own tissues.
We know that this process fails in self-attack conditions such as juvenile diabetes, MS, and rheumatoid arthritis.
The Nobel panel stated, "The findings have established a new field of research and spurred the development of innovative treatments, for example for cancer and autoimmune diseases."
In cancer, regulatory T-cells block the system from attacking the growth, so research are focused on reducing their quantity.
For autoimmune diseases, trials are exploring boosting regulatory T-cells so the organism is no longer being harmed. A comparable approach could also be effective in minimizing the risks of organ transplant failure.
Innovative Experiments
Professor Sakaguchi, from Osaka University, conducted experiments on mice that had their thymus removed, leading to autoimmune disease.
He demonstrated that introducing immune cells from other mice could prevent the disease—implying there was a system for preventing immune cells from harming the body.
Mary Brunkow, from the a research center in a US city, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were studying an genetic autoimmune disease in mice and people that resulted in the discovery of a genetic factor vital for the way T-regs function.
"Their pioneering research has uncovered how the immune system is kept in check by T-reg cells, preventing it from mistakenly attacking the body's own tissues," commented a leading physiology specialist.
"This work is a remarkable example of how fundamental biological study can have far-reaching consequences for human health."
