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Two US-based researchers and a Japanese scientist will share a Nobel Prize for their work on how a body¡¯s immune system decides which cells to attack and which ones to defend.

Shimon Sakaguchi, a professor at Osaka University; Mary Brunkow, of the Institute for Systems Biology in Seattle; and Fred Ramsdell, of Sonoma Biotherapeutics, have been announced as the recipients of this year¡¯s prize in physiology or medicine.

Their work on ¡°peripheral immune tolerance¡± led to ¡°groundbreaking discoveries¡±, shedding new light on how the body¡¯s immune system regulates itself so that it doesn¡¯t routinely attack the organs, the Nobel committee said.

Invasive microbes often ¡°camouflage¡± themselves as human cells to enter the body but the researchers identified how ¡°regulatory T cells¡± function as security guards to prevent the body¡¯s own tissue being attacked.

¡°Their discoveries have been decisive for our understanding of how the immune system functions and why we do not all develop serious autoimmune diseases,¡± said Olle K?mpe, chair of the committee.

In 1995, Sakaguchi was the first to identify a previously unknown class of immune cells that protect the body.

Brunkow and Ramsdell were able to build on his work in 2001 when they discovered that mice have a mutation in a gene they named?Foxp3. Mutations in the human equivalent of this gene cause a serious autoimmune disease, IPEX.

Sakaguchi was then able to link these discoveries when two years later he proved that the?Foxp3?gene governs the development of the cells he identified in 1995.

Their work launched a new field, peripheral tolerance, and has helped spur the development of medical treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases, many of which are now undergoing clinical trials.

The winners share a prize fund worth 11 million Swedish kroner (?870,000).

Annette Dolphin, president of the UK Physiological Society, congratulated the winners, saying that their ¡°discoveries have been decisive for understanding why most of us do not develop serious autoimmune diseases¡±.

¡°By uncovering the mechanisms of peripheral immune tolerance, this research provides vital insights into the regulation of the immune system and opens up new possibilities for treating autoimmune diseases, improving transplant outcomes, and developing future cancer therapies,¡± she added.

¡°This work is a striking example of how fundamental physiological research can have far-reaching implications for human health.¡±

tom.williams@timeshighereducation.com