Press / Press releases
Our latest press releases
Genetic diversity: crucial for our survival in many ways
19/12/2011 - researchers from the Institut Pasteur and the CNRS reconstruct the genetic history of interferons, and put forward potentially innovative ways to improve their clinical use in the treatment of pathologies as diversified as Hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis, and some specific cancers.
“By using an evolutionary genetic approach, we were able to identify which interferons could be essential to our survival, and which ones could be less important or have a redundant role,” explains Mr Quintana-Murci, head of the Institut Pasteur/CNRS Unit of Human Evolutionary Genetics.
Cerebral malaria, allergy-like mechanisms to blame
04/10/2011 - Researchers from the Institut Pasteur and the CNRS, in collaboration with Inserm and the Université Paris Diderot, have demonstrated the role an inflammatory reaction plays in the development of cerebral malaria in mice.
Cerebral malaria is one of the most severe forms of malaria primarily affecting young children. If confirmed in humans, this discovery would pave the way for new therapeutic developments to help prevent this disease. This study was recently published online by the Journal of Experimental Medicine.
The first human model for neurodegenerative Sanfilippo syndrome
13/09/2011 - Researchers from the Institut Pasteur and Inserm, in collaboration with the Centre de Biologie Cellulaire in Lyon, have obtained the first human neuron model for Sanfilippo syndrome, an incurable neurodegenerative disorder that occurs in children.
This model is the tool of choice for studying the cellular mechanisms at the root of this disease as well as for identifying therapeutic options. The procedure, which involves stem cells, could also be applied to model other diseases, especially neurodegenerative diseases. This work has been published in the Human Molecular Genetics journal.
The troubling emergence of multi-drug resistant Salmonella
03/08/2011 - As part of a vast international study, researchers from the Institut Pasteur, the INRA and the French Institute for Public Health Surveillance have tracked the sudden and worrying emergence of a Salmonella strain that has developed resistance to almost every possible antibiotic treatment.
The study has retraced the evolution of the bacteria throughout the last 50 years. It has notably determined the chronology for the appearance of different resistances, decrypted the bacteria’s mechanisms, and identified poultry to be the main vector of the strain. This work, published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, underlines the importance of closely monitoring these bacteria responsible for food-borne infections and the need to rationalize the use of antibiotics in farming at the international level.
Graft rejection at the cellular level filmed in 3D
Using a new and original in vivo imaging technique enabling real-time, in-depth, cellular immune response mechanism investigation in animals, researchers from the Institut Pasteur and Inserm have been the first to observe the process of graft rejection.
Observing this "cellular choreography" has most notably proven the existence of a mechanism that contributes to the immune reaction underlying rejection. This discovery, published in Nature Medicine, paves the way towards the optimization of immunosuppressive therapies and promotes successful grafting techniques.
AREVA Foundation and Institut Pasteur sign a new partnership agreement for Aids research
1st/04/2011- AREVA Foundation continues to fight Aids alongside the Institut Pasteur in 2011.
Two new Institute teams will benefit from the continuing partnership:
• the team led by Professor Olivier Schwartz, who directs the Virus and Immunity Research Unit
• the team of Dr. Michaela Müller of the Retroviral Infection Regulation Unit directed by Professor Barré-Sinoussi, Nobel Prize in Medicine.
• the team led by Professor Olivier Schwartz, who directs the Virus and Immunity Research Unit
• the team of Dr. Michaela Müller of the Retroviral Infection Regulation Unit directed by Professor Barré-Sinoussi, Nobel Prize in Medicine.
Anaphylactic shock: the key players identified
24/03/2011 - Researchers from the Institut Pasteur and Inserm (French National Institute for Health and Medical Research) have recently identified, in animals, the otherwise unexpected culprits responsible for anaphylactic shock.
If confirmed in upcoming clinical investigations, these results could markedly improve means to handle this potentially fatal medical emergency.
Powerful human DNA mutators identified
03/07/2011- Scientists from the Institut Pasteur, the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), and the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm) have shown that a cellular protein, APOBEC3A, known for its antiviral activity, is also capable of mutagenic activity on human cell DNA.
This discovery suggests that this protein plays a role in the cellular DNA degradation occurring in apoptosis, programmed cell death, and cancer genesis. This work has been published on the PNAS website.
Unsuspected immune arsenal in infants
02 / 21 / 2011 - While completely protected from any infectious germs in their mother’s womb, fetuses spontaneously develop, “in advance”, an immune defense system ready to react to the bacterial colonization of their digestive tract at birth.
This surprising observation made by scientists at the Institut Pasteur and the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) also shows that this same mechanism is capable of regulating its antibacterial activity to allow the installation of intestinal commensal flora and establish the indispensable balance between bacteria and the immune system. This discovery sheds new light on the understanding of mechanisms at the root of auto-immune diseases such as Crohn's disease.
Discovery of a new group of highly susceptible malaria mosquitoes in Africa
02 / 04 / 2011 - In the course of a large genetic study of malaria vector mosquitoes in Burkina Faso, West Africa, researchers at the Institut Pasteur, the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and their collaborators have discovered a new subspecies of the mosquito Anopheles gambiae, the world’s most important malaria vector.
This new mosquito group, which may be an especially efficient malaria vector, was identified using a novel sampling method that for the first time accounted for mosquito behavior. The results of this study, published in the journal Science, highlight the importance of including mosquito behavior as a factor in malaria vector control strategies. A better accounting of mosquito behavior could expand the reach of control measures to target all malaria vector populations, and not just those found indoors.
Discovery of a new bacterial strategy to control immunity
01/25/2011-Researchers at the Institut Pasteur, INRA, Inserm and the CNRS have just identified a mechanism that enables the pathogenic bacterium Listeria monocytogenes to reprogram expression of the genes in the host cell it infects to its advantage.
L. monocytogenes secretes a protein that can penetrate the cell nucleus and thus take control of the genes in the host’s immune system. This research was published in the journal Science.
3D structure leads to first decoding of mechanism of action of general anesthetics
01/20/2011 - Two teams from the Institut Pasteur in association with the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) have published in the journal Nature the three-dimensional structure of two general anesthetics bound to their membrane receptor.
This research provides the first atomic-resolution structures of general anesthetics which can be used to understand their action mechanism, a mechanism that has remained largely unknown since their discovery two hundred years ago. The research could therefore be a first step towards the development of new compounds that are more specific and cause fewer side effects.
Hepatitis C : in 2011, a predictive marker for response to therapy
Scientists at Inserm and Institut Pasteur have performed biomarker discovery on patients being treated for chronic hepatitis C infection.
Their work, published in The Journal of Clinical Investigation, demonstrates that the plasma levels of the protein IP-10 predict, prior to treatment initiation, the efficacy of treatment with pegylated-interferon and ribavirin. Based on these results, the scientists have developed a prognostic test. Commercialization is anticipated in 2011, and will help inform physicians of the chances that patients will respond to standard treatment or if instead they will require new therapeutic cocktails (e.g., inclusion of protease inhibitors).