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Document de presse | 2007.03.11
BCG: should clinical trials be reconducted?
The various BCG strains used to vaccinate against tuberculosis throughout the world may not all have the same level of effectiveness. This was the conclusion of a study conducted by researchers from Institut Pasteur, published today in the "Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, USA". Press release Paris, march 12, 2007 Over three billion individuals...
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Document de presse | 2007.02.14
The virulence of the plague bacillus: a "virus" involved...
During Middle Age, the plague decimated almost one third of the European population in less than 3 years. Why is the plague bacillus so pathogenic? Researchers from the Institut Pasteur have discovered that the infection of the ancestral form of the bacillus by a bacterial virus (phage) has been one of the steps that have led to the emergence of such a dreadful organism. For plague specialists,...
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Document de presse | 2007.02.05
New recommendations against a major opportunistic infection: cryptococcosis
Cryptococcosis ranks second among fatal opportunistic infections in patients infected by HIV and who are profoundly immunosuppressed. A multicentric prospective study, published today in PLoS Medicine, was conducted in France by researchers from the Institut Pasteur and the CNRS among patients diagnosed with cryptococcosis. The study uncovers parameters associated with more severe infections,...
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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...