Why this year’s Nobel Prize matters for liver patients

10 October 2025

The 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi for their groundbreaking discoveries in peripheral immune tolerance – a process that prevents the body’s immune system from attacking its own tissues.

Their discoveries of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and the Foxp3 gene have reshaped our understanding of how immune balance is maintained. These insights have paved the way for new therapeutic approaches to autoimmune diseases, cancer, and organ transplantation – all areas where immune regulation is crucial.

At the Roger Williams Institute of Liver Studies, these discoveries have particular resonance. Much of our research focuses on how the immune system interacts with the liver – an organ uniquely positioned at the interface between tolerance and inflammation.

Researchers at King’s College London and the Institute have played an important role in translating Treg biology into real-world treatments:

• Identifying human CD4+CD25+ regulatory T cells for the first time
• Conducting some of the first clinical trials of regulatory T cells in liver transplantation, to reduce the need for long-term immunosuppression.
• Defining Treg biology in autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes
• Pioneering the use of low-dose IL-2 therapy to boost Treg activity in transplantation

The Nobel Prize serves as a reminder of how fundamental discoveries in basic science can lead to transformative advances in patient care. From laboratory to clinic, the journey from understanding immune regulation to applying it in liver medicine reflects the very mission of the Foundation: to turn research breakthroughs into better outcomes for people with liver disease.

As our Academic Director, Professor Alberto Sanchez-Fueyo, said:

“The liver offers a unique window into how the immune system can be retrained to tolerate rather than attack. These discoveries underpin much of what we’re doing to make transplantation safer, more durable, and less dependent on life-long drugs.”
– Professor Alberto Sanchez-Fueyo, Professor of Hepatology at King's College London

Your support powers our work in this pioneering field – where the next generation of discoveries could rewrite the future of liver care. Thank you for standing with us.

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