2025 Nobel Prize Awarded to Scientists for Key Immune System Discoveries Fueling Cancer, Autoimmune Disease Treatments

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to American scientists Mary E. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell, along with Japanese researcher Shimon Sakaguchi, for their work on peripheral immune tolerance which helps prevent the immune system from attacking the body's own tissues. Their discoveries centered on regulatory T cells, described as the immune system's "security guards," which control immune responses and prevent autoimmune diseases. This research has laid the foundation for new treatments targeting autoimmune disorders, cancer, and safer organ transplants, with several therapies currently in clinical trials. Sakaguchi initially identified regulatory T cells in the mid-1990s, while Brunkow and Ramsdell later linked genetic mutations in the Foxp3 gene to immune regulation and autoimmune vulnerability. The prize, amounting to nearly $1.2 million, highlights how understanding immune regulation can revolutionize therapies for a range of diseases. The Nobel Committee emphasized that these findings have been decisive in understanding how immunity is controlled and why not everyone develops serious autoimmune diseases.