Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
They were honored for discovering how the immune system prevents attacks on the body’s own tissues.
Sakaguchi identified regulatory T-cells, or T-regs — “the brakes of the immune system,” said Prof Adrian Liston.
Brunkow and Ramsdell found the FoxP3 gene, vital for T-reg cell development. Mutations cause severe autoimmune diseases.
Their discoveries transformed immunology and inspired new therapies for autoimmune disorders, transplants, and cancer.
“This prize was long overdue,” said Prof Adrian Hayday.
