Nobel Prize Honors Groundbreaking Immune System Research
The prestigious award in medical science has been awarded for revolutionary discoveries that clarify how the body's defense network targets harmful infections while sparing the body's own cells.
Three renowned researchers—from Japan Prof. Sakaguchi and American experts Mary Brunkow and Dr. Ramsdell—received this honor.
The research identified specialized "security guards" within the immune system that eliminate rogue immune cells capable of attacking the body.
These findings are now enabling new treatments for autoimmune diseases and cancer.
These winners will share a monetary award worth 11 million Swedish kronor.
Crucial Discoveries
"The work has been decisive for comprehending how the body's defenses functions and why we don't all develop severe autoimmune diseases," commented the head of the award panel.
The team's studies address a fundamental question: In what way does the defense system protect us from numerous infections while leaving our own tissues unharmed?
The immune system uses immune cells that scan for indicators of disease, including viruses and germs it has never encountered.
These cells employ sensors—known as recognition units—that are generated randomly in a vast number of combinations.
That gives the defense network the ability to fight a broad range of threats, but the unpredictability of the process inevitably produces immune cells that may target the body.
Security Guards of the Immune System
Researchers previously understood that some of these harmful defense cells were eliminated in the thymus—the site where immune cells develop.
The latest Nobel Prize honors the identification of regulatory T-cells—described as the body's "security guards"—which patrol the system to disarm any defenders that assault the body's own tissues.
It is known that this process fails in autoimmune diseases such as type-1 diabetes, MS, and RA.
The Nobel panel added, "These findings have established a novel area of investigation and spurred the development of new therapies, for instance for cancer and autoimmune diseases."
In malignancies, T-regs block the system from attacking the tumor, so studies are aimed at reducing their numbers.
In autoimmune diseases, experiments are exploring increasing T-reg cells so the body is no longer under attack. A comparable approach could also be useful in reducing the chances of organ transplant failure.
Pioneering Experiments
Professor Shimon Sakaguchi, of Osaka University, conducted experiments on mice that had their immune gland removed, leading to autoimmune disease.
He showed that injecting defense cells from healthy mice could stop the illness—implying there was a mechanism for preventing immune cells from attacking the host.
Dr. Brunkow, affiliated with the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle, and Dr. Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in a California city, were investigating an genetic immune disorder in mice and people that resulted in the discovery of a gene vital for the way T-regs function.
"The groundbreaking work has uncovered how the immune system is kept in check by regulatory T cells, preventing it from mistakenly attacking the healthy cells," commented a leading biological science expert.
"This research is a remarkable example of how fundamental biological research can have far-reaching consequences for public health."
