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Document de presse | 2007.01.31
The search for a streptococcus B vaccine
Streptococcus B, one of the primary sources of infection in newborns, can cause pneumonia, septicemia, and meningitis. Portuguese researchers and a team from the Institut Pasteur associated with the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) have identified a bacterial protein that modifies the host's immune system to facilitate bacterial colonization. The researchers, who have...
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Document de presse | 2006.12.19
Tuberculosis: the bacillus takes refuge in adipose cells
A team from the Institut Pasteur has recently shown that the tuberculosis bacillus hides from the immune system in its host's fat cells. This formidable pathogen is protected against even the most powerful antibiotics in these cells, in which it may remain dormant for years. This discovery, published in PLoS ONE, sheds new light on possible strategies for fighting tuberculosis. Attempts to...
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Document de presse | 2006.12.10
Inflammatory intestinal diseases: the lessons of Shigella
The bacterium Shigella flexneri, responsible for shigellosis, or bacillary dysentery, acts by invading intestinal cells. Researchers from the Institut Pasteur associated with Inserm have now shown how this bacterium modulates the inflammatory response at the cell level to ensure its survival. By deciphering the mechanisms at work, they are pointing out to possibly new therapeutic targets, opening...
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Document de presse | 2006.10.19
Identification of a gene responsible for auditory neuropathies: hope for children suffering from profound deafness
A gene in which mutations cause profound irreversible deafness in newborn children has been identified by the team led by Professor Christine Petit at the Pasteur Institute, in association with Inserm, the Pierre et Marie Curie University and the Collège de France. The discovery which has just been published in the journal Cell has led these researchers to uncover the role of its encoded protein...
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Document de presse | 2006.08.31
Malaria Parasite: The Trojan Horse strategy revealed
A team from the Pasteur Institute has just uncovered a subtle mechanism used by the parasite that is responsible for malaria to escape from the immune system during a crucial stage of its cycle inside its mammalian host. This has been made possible thanks to in vivo imaging techniques that make it possible to follow the parasite in real time inside the host organism. This discovery - published in...
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Document de presse | 2006.06.24
Immortal DNA in skeletal muscle stem cells
Researchers at the Pasteur Institute show for the first time the mechanism which adult skeletal muscle stem cells can use to protect their genome from mutations. Before cell division, DNA is duplicated, and each daughter cell inherits one copy. During DNA synthesis, however, errors can arise from this imperfect process. Over time, repeated rounds of cell divisions result in the accumulation of...
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Document de presse | 2006.06.14
Brain research: how is our reward system activated?
Researchers at the Pasteur Institute and the CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research), in collaboration with the Karolinska Institute (Stockholm), have recently decoded the molecular bases of our reward system activation, a system which plays a central role in drug dependence. Their work was published in Neuron on 15 June 2006. Press release Paris, june 15, 2006...
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Document de presse | 2006.06.07
Gene expression is governed by spatial organization in the nucleus
Teams at the Institut Pasteur, in collaboration with the CNRS *, have recently discovered an fundamental aspect of cell biology and gene regulation. The results of this work, published in Nature, were obtained by means of the most up-to-date microscopy and image analysis technologies. The researchers were able to observe the position of a gene in real time during its activation and to found that...
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Document de presse | 2006.04.26
A breakthrough in the fight against multiresistance to antibiotics
Multiresistance to antibiotics is a major public health problem. In hospitals, multiresistant pathogens are the main obstacle hindering the control of nosocomial infections. One of the main ways of spreading such resistance is the transfer between bacteria of a class of particularly mobile elements, called integrons, which are carriers of these resistance factors. In a study published today ? in...
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Document de presse | 2006.03.22
Advances in research into a new tuberculosis vaccine
Researchers at the Pasteur Institute and the University of Zaragoza have developed a novel strategy to produce a new tuberculosis vaccine candidate. In an article published in Vaccine, they demonstrate that inactivation of a single gene in the tuberculosis bacillus gives rise to a strain that is more attenuated than BCG and which provides better protection against the disease. This work paves the...