In the world of science, a prize was won, By Brunkow, Ramsdell, and Sakaguchi’s fun, They found a way to keep our bodies safe, From the immune system going on a rampage. With T cells in action, they defend our health, Helper and Killer, they're the immune wealth, But don't forget the Regulators in the fight, Keeping balance in our system, making everything right.
Oh, immune tolerance, we’re learning so much, Protecting our bodies with a gentle touch, From autoimmune storms, we find a way, With T cells guiding us, we’re here to stay!
Regulatory T cells, the guards in our team, With CD4 and CD25, they fulfill a dream, Keeping watch, they won’t let us fall, Preventing our bodies from attacking at all. In scurfy mice, a mystery was found, A mutation in genes that turned life around, With FOXP3, they showed us the key, Unlocking the secrets of immune harmony.
Oh, immune tolerance, we’re learning so much, Protecting our bodies with a gentle touch, From autoimmune storms, we find a way, With T cells guiding us, we’re here to stay!
Now researchers are dreaming, with new pathways in sight, Treating diseases, making everything right, By boosting those T cells, we’re taking a stand, Using our own defenses, to heal this land.
Oh, immune tolerance, we’re learning so much, Protecting our bodies with a gentle touch, From autoimmune storms, we find a way, With T cells guiding us, we’re here to stay! Yes, with T cells guiding us, we’re here to stay!
Select a verse to explore the science behind it.
The Laureates & The Immune System
The 2025 Nobel Prize honors Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi for discovering Peripheral Immune Tolerance.
Before their work, we knew about:
- Helper T Cells (CD4+): The commanders that alert the immune system.
- Killer T Cells (CD8+): The soldiers that destroy infected cells.
The laureates identified the missing piece: Regulatory T Cells (Tregs). These are the "peacekeepers" that prevent the immune system from attacking the body's own healthy tissues.
What is Immune Tolerance?
Immune Tolerance is the body's ability to distinguish "self" from "non-self".
There are two layers of defense:
- Central Tolerance: Happens in the thymus (an organ in the chest), filtering out most self-reactive cells early on.
- Peripheral Tolerance: The laureates' discovery. This happens in the rest of the body, where Regulatory T cells suppress any rogue immune cells that escaped the first filter.
Without this, we face "autoimmune storms"—diseases where the body attacks itself.
The Genetic Key: FOXP3
Shimon Sakaguchi discovered how to identify these peacekeepers: they carry the markers CD4 and CD25 on their surface.
Meanwhile, Brunkow and Ramsdell investigated "Scurfy Mice", which died from severe autoimmunity. They traced the cause to a mutation in a gene called FOXP3.
FOXP3 turns out to be the "master switch" for Regulatory T cells. Without it, the body has no peacekeepers, leading to chaos.
Healing the Future
These discoveries are revolutionizing medicine:
- Autoimmune Diseases: Researchers are finding ways to "boost" Regulatory T cells to calm down overactive immune systems (e.g., in Lupus or Rheumatoid Arthritis).
- Transplants: Boosting Tregs can help the body accept a new organ without rejection.
- Cancer: Conversely, blocking Tregs near tumors can "unleash" the immune system to attack cancer cells more effectively.
What is Immune Tolerance?
Immune Tolerance is the body's ability to distinguish "self" from "non-self".
There are two layers of defense:
- Central Tolerance: Happens in the thymus (an organ in the chest), filtering out most self-reactive cells early on.
- Peripheral Tolerance: The laureates' discovery. This happens in the rest of the body, where Regulatory T cells suppress any rogue immune cells that escaped the first filter.
Without this, we face "autoimmune storms"—diseases where the body attacks itself.