Daily News Analysis ‘Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine 2025’ : 7 October

Key Discoveries:

• They studied “peripheral immune tolerance”, which keeps the immune system from harming healthy tissues.
• Shimon Sakaguchi (1995): Found a new type of cell called regulatory T cells (Tregs) that prevent autoimmune diseases.
• Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell (2001): Found a gene called Foxp3, which controls these T cells.
  • Mutations in this gene cause a serious autoimmune disease called IPEX.
• Later, Sakaguchi linked Foxp3 to the development of Tregs, showing how the body maintains immune balance.

Importance:

• Helped scientists understand why most people don’t develop autoimmune diseases.
• Opened new ways to treat cancer and autoimmune diseases.
• May improve organ transplant success by reducing immune rejection.

Why in News?

•  The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025 was awarded to for discovering how the body’s immune system stops itself from attacking its own cells.