Nobel Prize in Medicine Awarded for Immune Tolerance Discovery

Mary Brunckow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi will receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The Nobel Prize was awarded for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.

Peripheral immune tolerance is a crucial mechanism of the immune system that prevents an immune response against the body's own tissues and regulates the immune system's activity to prevent autoimmune diseases. This process is important because:

It prevents autoimmune diseases: for example, rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, where the immune system attacks the body's own organism.

It regulates inflammation: helps to prevent excessive inflammatory responses.

It ensures tolerance to foreign but harmless substances: for example, antigens from food or bacteria in the gut microflora.

The work of Mary Brunckow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi, for which they received the Nobel Prize, relates to the discovery of these mechanisms, particularly the role of regulatory T-cells and the study of the genetic and molecular foundations of immune tolerance regulation. This is important for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, organ transplantation, and cancer immunotherapy.