The FOXP3 Gene and the Eternal Principle of Balance

Have you ever thought that there is an invisible war going on within us every moment—no clang of swords, no dust of the battlefield, yet a constant struggle?

- PRADEEP BORAR & GAJENDRA SINGH

This war is fought between billions of cells in our body - on one side are the attacking bacteria and viruses, and on the other side are our own defenders - T-Cells and B-Cells. But who is the commander of this war? Who decides when to attack and when to maintain restraint? The Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine of 2025 has revealed this mystery. This prestigious award was given to Mary E. Brunko, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi for their landmark discovery that Regulatory T-Cells (Tregs) and the FOXP3 gene are central to maintaining immune self-tolerance in the body. This gene ensures that our defense system fights external enemies, but does not consider our own body as an enemy. This discovery is not only a triumph of medical science, but also a profound philosophical revelation. The truth that is being discovered in science laboratories today is what India knew thousands of years ago as the ‘principle of karma’ - that every action has a reason, and balance is the eternal religion of life.

Our body battles millions of microorganisms every day. This battle remains balanced as long as the Regulatory T-Cells remain within their limits. As soon as they lose control, the body starts attacking its own organs — a condition called autoimmune disease. Statistics show that around 50 crore people around the world are suffering from some autoimmune disease, and in India, 70 percent of such patients are women.