The recipients of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine are Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi. They won the prize for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance. Photo by Claudio Bresciani/EPA
Oct. 6 (UPI) -- Three scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine Monday for their work to explain how the body protects itself from autoimmune diseases.
The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet announced Monday that Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell of the United States and Shimon Sakaguchi of Japan won the prize, worth $1.17 million, which will be divided among the three of them.
The laureates identified the immune system's security guards, regulatory T cells, which prevent immune cells from attacking our own bodies, the Nobel Prize's press release said.
"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 Kämpe, chair of the Nobel Committee, in a statement.
