This year's Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine went to three scientists from the United States and Japan who discovered regulatory T cells of peripheral immune tolerance, which prevent the immune system from attacking normal cells, opening a path to treat autoimmune diseases.
The Nobel Committee at Sweden's Karolinska Institute said on the 6th (local time) that this year's Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine will go to Mary Brunkow (64), senior program manager at the Institute for Systems Biology in the United States; Fred Ramsdell (65), adviser at Sonoma Biotherapeutics in the United States; and Shimon Sakaguchi (74), a professor at Osaka University in Japan.
The committee said, "The laureates discovered regulatory T cells (immune cells), the guardians of the immune system, laying the foundation for a new research field," and added, "Through this, we expect to treat autoimmune diseases, provide more effective cancer therapies, and prevent severe complications after stem cell transplantation."
This year's Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine laureates will share prize money of 11 million Swedish kronor (about 1.655 billion won).