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| Nobel prize in medicine awarded to scientists for immune system research | Nobel prize in medicine awarded to scientists for immune system research |
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| Mary E Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi win for work on preventing immune system harming body | Mary E Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi win for work on preventing immune system harming body |
| The Nobel prize in physiology or medicine 2025 has been awarded to three scientists for their work on how the immune system is prevented from attacking the body. | The Nobel prize in physiology or medicine 2025 has been awarded to three scientists for their work on how the immune system is prevented from attacking the body. |
| Mary E Brunkow, now at the Institute for Systems Biology in | Mary E Brunkow, now at the Institute for Systems Biology in |
| Seattle, Fred Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in | Seattle, Fred Ramsdell, now at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in |
| San Francisco, and Shimon Sakaguchi, now at Osaka University in Japan, have been awarded the prize “for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance”. | San Francisco, and Shimon Sakaguchi, now at Osaka University in Japan, have been awarded the prize “for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance”. |
| Announced on Monday by the Nobel assembly at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, the winners will share a prize of 11m Swedish kronor (about £871,400). | Announced on Monday by the Nobel assembly at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, the winners will share a prize of 11m Swedish kronor (about £871,400). |
| At the time of the announcement, Prof Thomas Perlmann, secretary-general of the Nobel assembly, revealed he had managed to reach only Sakaguchi. | |
| “We have their phone numbers, but they’re probably on silent mode,” he said. | “We have their phone numbers, but they’re probably on silent mode,” he said. |
| The award celebrates a fundamental discovery relating to T-cells, an important player in the immune system. T-cells are a type of white blood cell, produced in the bone marrow, that help to flag invading microbes and kill infected or cancerous cells. | The award celebrates a fundamental discovery relating to T-cells, an important player in the immune system. T-cells are a type of white blood cell, produced in the bone marrow, that help to flag invading microbes and kill infected or cancerous cells. |
| It is crucial that T-cells do not attack the body’s healthy tissues, as this can cause autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis. By the late 1980s it was known that harmful T-cells are eliminated in an organ called the thymus gland, where developing T-cells migrate to mature. | It is crucial that T-cells do not attack the body’s healthy tissues, as this can cause autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis. By the late 1980s it was known that harmful T-cells are eliminated in an organ called the thymus gland, where developing T-cells migrate to mature. |
| Prof Marie Wahren-Herlenius, of the Karolinska Institute, said: “For a long time, this was believed to be the only way self-tolerance is obtained. However, some self-reactive cells escape out into our circulation and are potentially dangerous.” | Prof Marie Wahren-Herlenius, of the Karolinska Institute, said: “For a long time, this was believed to be the only way self-tolerance is obtained. However, some self-reactive cells escape out into our circulation and are potentially dangerous.” |
| Sakaguchi revealed a second mechanism by which self-tolerance arises, showing harmful T-cells can be eliminated by mature T-cells that carry a protein on their surface called CD25. These cells became known as regulatory T-cells. | Sakaguchi revealed a second mechanism by which self-tolerance arises, showing harmful T-cells can be eliminated by mature T-cells that carry a protein on their surface called CD25. These cells became known as regulatory T-cells. |
| Prof Adrian Liston, from the University of Cambridge, said: “Essentially, they are the brakes of the immune system.” | Prof Adrian Liston, from the University of Cambridge, said: “Essentially, they are the brakes of the immune system.” |
| Brunkow and Ramsdell added another piece to the puzzle, revealing mice with a severe autoimmune disorder called scurfy have a mutation in their X chromosome within a gene the pair called FoxP3. They then showed that children with mutations in this gene develop a rare autoimmune condition called Ipex syndrome. | Brunkow and Ramsdell added another piece to the puzzle, revealing mice with a severe autoimmune disorder called scurfy have a mutation in their X chromosome within a gene the pair called FoxP3. They then showed that children with mutations in this gene develop a rare autoimmune condition called Ipex syndrome. |
| Sakaguchibecame the first to show the FoxP3 gene controls the development of regulatory T-cells, revealing its importance for the emergence of self-tolerance. | Sakaguchibecame the first to show the FoxP3 gene controls the development of regulatory T-cells, revealing its importance for the emergence of self-tolerance. |
| Liston said: “Regulatory T-cells keep most of us from having autoimmunity and allergy. And another part is that by having a strong system of breaks present we are able to have stronger and faster immune reactions – the same way that a car can have a better accelerator if it has good breaks. It really is an essential part of the immune system, and leads to early fatal disease in childhood if it is broken.” | Liston said: “Regulatory T-cells keep most of us from having autoimmunity and allergy. And another part is that by having a strong system of breaks present we are able to have stronger and faster immune reactions – the same way that a car can have a better accelerator if it has good breaks. It really is an essential part of the immune system, and leads to early fatal disease in childhood if it is broken.” |
| Wahren-Herlenius said the discoveries have spurred on the development of several potential treatments. | Wahren-Herlenius said the discoveries have spurred on the development of several potential treatments. |
| “Clinical trials are ongoing to increase the number of regulatory T-cells for suppressing unwanted immune reactions in autoimmune disease or following organ transplantation,” she said, adding that the opposite approach was used in trials for cancer. | “Clinical trials are ongoing to increase the number of regulatory T-cells for suppressing unwanted immune reactions in autoimmune disease or following organ transplantation,” she said, adding that the opposite approach was used in trials for cancer. |
| “Cancer cells can make use of our regulatory T-cells to avoid immune reactions that could destroy the cancer cells,” she said. “For cancer treatments, the focus is therefore on down regulating or destroying the regulatory T-cells so that our immune system can act against the malignant cells.” | “Cancer cells can make use of our regulatory T-cells to avoid immune reactions that could destroy the cancer cells,” she said. “For cancer treatments, the focus is therefore on down regulating or destroying the regulatory T-cells so that our immune system can act against the malignant cells.” |
| Prof Danny Altmann, an immunologist at Imperial College London, said: “A huge part of the advance over the past 30 years in understanding the immune system has come with the description, definition and characterisation of the regulatory T-cells in diverse aspect of health and disease.” | Prof Danny Altmann, an immunologist at Imperial College London, said: “A huge part of the advance over the past 30 years in understanding the immune system has come with the description, definition and characterisation of the regulatory T-cells in diverse aspect of health and disease.” |
| Prof Adrian Hayday, of King’s College London and the Francis Crick Institute, said the prize for the discovery of regulatory T-cells – or T-reg cells – was long-expected, although there was further work to do to fully harness the discoveries. | Prof Adrian Hayday, of King’s College London and the Francis Crick Institute, said the prize for the discovery of regulatory T-cells – or T-reg cells – was long-expected, although there was further work to do to fully harness the discoveries. |
| “There really is an enormous amount that we still don’t know about T-reg cells, and the capacity to routinely exploit T-reg cells and their properties in the clinic has not yet been realised,” he said. “However, I’m quite confident it will be.” | “There really is an enormous amount that we still don’t know about T-reg cells, and the capacity to routinely exploit T-reg cells and their properties in the clinic has not yet been realised,” he said. “However, I’m quite confident it will be.” |