Overview

• The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institutet announced the laureates on October 6 in Stockholm.
• Olle Kämpe of the Nobel Committee said the work was decisive for understanding why most people do not develop severe autoimmune disease.
• Shimon Sakaguchi first identified regulatory T cells in 1995, and Mary E. Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell linked the FOXP3 gene to autoimmune disease in 2001 before the connection to these cells was established two years later.
• Mutations in FOXP3 cause the human autoimmune syndrome IPEX, anchoring the mouse discoveries to human disease.
• The trio’s findings founded the field of peripheral immune tolerance and have spurred clinical trials targeting cancer, autoimmune disorders and transplant tolerance; the winners will share 11 million Swedish kronor.