Nobel Prize in Medicine 2025 awarded to three scientists for discovery of the mechanism of environmental immune tolerance

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): These three scientists have been able to discover and explain an important mechanism called "environmental immune tolerance". This mechanism prevents the immune system from attacking its own tissues and organs and prevents autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, MS and arthritis.

 

In this research, cells called Tregs have been identified that play a role in protecting the body. A gene called FOXP3 has also been discovered that controls the function of these cells. The findings could pave the way for treatments for autoimmune diseases and even some types of cancer.

 

Experts say the discovery could lead to drugs that regulate the immune system and prevent damage to the body in the near future.

 

The immune system is a biological marvel; powerful and precise, designed to detect and destroy microscopic threats; yet here’s the great paradox: If left unchecked, this powerful system can attack self-organs and tissues instead of foreign agents. Understanding how this balance is maintained has puzzled immunologists for more than a century.

 

The 2025 winners’ discovery provided the answer to this long-standing puzzle. Peripheral Immune Tolerance serves as a secondary defense mechanism.

 

The immune system is initially trained in organs such as the thymus (central tolerance) to eliminate autoreactive cells, but some of these dangerous cells (T and B) escape this initial filter. Peripheral tolerance is the process that ensures that these escapee cells do not cause any autoimmune damage.

 

The discovery of Tregs and the identification of the FOXP3 gene, which is the switch that controls them, have made it possible to develop therapies aimed at enhancing or re-regulating the function of these protective cells in autoimmune patients.

 

The prizes will be awarded on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.

 

Each prize consists of 11 million Swedish kronor (US$1.2 million), an 18-karat gold medal and an honorary diploma. This amount can be divided between a maximum of three winners in each category.