Pasteur Institute

The Pasteur Institute (French: Institut Pasteur) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, microorganisms, diseases and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, its founder and first director, who had successfully developed the first antirabies serum in 1885. It was founded on June 4, 1887 and inaugurated on November 14, 1888.

For over a century, the Institut Pasteur has been at the forefront of the battle against infectious disease. This worldwide biomedical research organization based in Paris was the first to isolate HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, in 1983. Over the years, it has been responsible for breakthrough discoveries that have enabled medical science to control such virulent diseases as diphtheria, tetanus, tuberculosis, poliomyelitis, influenza, yellow fever and plague. Since 1908, eight Pasteur Institute scientists have been awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine and physiology.

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History

The Institut Pasteur was founded in 1887 by Louis Pasteur, the French scientist whose early experiments with fermentation led to pioneering research in bacteriology. A giant in science, Pasteur discovered the principle of sterilization which came to be known as "pasteurization." His discoveries led to the universal practice of surgical antisepsis. He also developed techniques of vaccination to control bacterial infection, as well as a successful vaccine to treat rabies.

Louis Pasteur was committed both to basic research and its practical applications. As soon as his institute was created, Pasteur brought together scientists with various specialties. The first five departments were directed by two normaliens (graduates of the Ecole Normale Supérieure): Emile Duclaux (general microbiology research) and Charles Chamberland (microbe research applied to hygiene), as well as a biologist, Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov (morphological microbe research) and two physicians, Jacques-Joseph Grancher (rabies) and Emile Roux (technical microbe research). One year after the inauguration of the Institut Pasteur, Roux set up the first course of microbiology ever taught in the world, then entitled Cours de Microbie Technique (Course of microbe research techniques).

Pasteur's successors have sustained this tradition, and it is reflected in the Institut Pasteur's unique history of accomplishment:

• Emile Roux and Alexandre Yersin discovered the mechanism of action of Corynebacterium diphtheriae and how to treat diphtheria with antitoxins;
• Alexandre Yersin discovered in 1894 the pathogen of bubonic plague, Yersinia pestis;
• Paul-Louis Simond discovered in 1898 the role of the flea in the transmission of plague;
• Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin discovered how to culture the tuberculosis bacillus, Mycobacterium tuberculosis (so called BCG or Bacillus Calmette-Guérin) and developed in 1921 the first effective antituberculosis vaccine;
• Alphonse Laveran got the 1907 Nobel Prize for his research on the role of protozoans as disease agents (notably, his discovery of the malaria hematozoon)
• Ilya Ilyich Mechnikov received the Nobel Prize in 1908 for contributions to scientific understanding of the immune system
• Constantin Levaditi and Karl Landsteiner demonstrated in 1910 that poliomyelitis is due to a filterable virus;
• Félix d'Herelle discovered in 1917 the bacteriophage, a virus that spread only inside bacteria;
• Jules Bordet received the Nobel prize in 1919 for his discoveries on immunity, especially the implication of antibodies and the mechanisms of action of the complement;
• Charles Nicolle received the Nobel prize in 1928 for unraveling the mystery of how typhus is transmitted, especially the role of the louse;
• Jean Laigret developed in 1932 the first vaccine for yellow fever;
• André Lwoff established in 1951 the existence of proviruses
• Pierre Lépine developed in 1954 one of the first antipolio vaccines
• Jean-Pierre Changeux isolated in 1970 the first receptor to a neurotransmitter, the acetylcholine receptor.
• Luc Montagnier and colleagues discovered the two HIV viruses that cause AIDS, in 1983 and 1985.

The biggest mistake by the Institute was ignoring a dissertation by Ernest Duchesne on the use of Penicillium glaucum to cure infections in 1897. The early exploitation of his discovery might have saved millions of lives, especially in World War I.

A new age of preventive medicine in France was made possible by such developments from the Pasteur Institute as vaccines for tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, yellow fever, poliomyelitis, and hepatitis B. The discovery and use of sulfonamides in treating infections was another breakthrough. Some researchers won fame by discovering antitoxins and Daniel Bovet received the 1957 Nobel Prize for his discoveries on synthetic anti-histamines and curarizing compounds.

Since World War II, Pasteur researchers have sharply focused on molecular biology. Their achievements were recognized in 1965, when the Nobel Prize was shared by François Jacob, Jacques Monod and André Lwoff for their work on the regulation of viruses. In 1985, the first human vaccine obtained by genetic engineering from animal cells, the vaccine against hepatitis B, was developed by Pierre Tiollais and collaborators.

Pasteur's Museum and Tomb

The Pasteur museum [1] is located in the South wing of the first building occupied by the Pasteur Institute, which was inaugurated on November 14th, 1888. Established in 1936, this museum houses the memory of Louis Pasteur's life and work in the vast apartment where he lived during the last seven years of his life, from 1888 to 1895. This museum also includes the collection of scientific objects illustrating the scientist's work, as well as the Byzantine funeral chapel where Pasteur is buried.

Institut Pasteur today

Today, the Institut Pasteur is one of the world's leading research centers; it houses 100 research units and close to 2,700 people, including 500 permanent scientists and another 600 scientists visiting from 70 countries annually. The Institut Pasteur is also a global network of 24 foreign institutes devoted to medical problems in developing countries; a graduate study center and an epidemiological screening unit.

The international network is present in the following cities and countries:

• Algiers, Algeria
• Bangui, Central African Republic
• Brussels, Belgium
• São Paulo, Brazil
• Phnom Penh, Cambodia
• Dakar, Senegal
• Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe
• Cayenne, French Guyana
• Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang and Hanoi, Vietnam
• Tehran, Iran: (Pasteur Institute of Iran)
• Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
• Tananarive, Madagascar
• Casablanca, Morocco
• Nouméa, New Caledonia
• St Petersburg, Russia
• Tunis, Tunisia
• Athens, Greece
• Montevideo, Uruguay
• Bucharest, Romania
• Niamey, Niger
• Yaoundé, Cameroon
• Seoul, South Korea
• Shanghai, China
• Pasteur Foundation, New York, USA
• Canadian Pasteur Foundation, Montréal, Canada
• Hong Kong University - Pasteur Research Centre Hong Kong, China
• Pasteur Institute of India, Coonoor, India [2]

Research Centers

The Institute Pasteur Paris has twelve research departments:

• Structural biology and Chemistry
• Structure and Dynamic of Genomes
• Fundamental and Medical Microbiology
• Microbial Pathogenesis
• Cell biology and Infection
• Virology
• Parasitology
• Developmental biology
• Neuroscience
• Immunology
• Molecular medicine
• Ecosystems and Epidemiology of Infectious diseases

In addition to the isolation of HIV-1 and HIV-2, in the recent past researchers at the Pasteur Institute have developed a test for the early detection of colon cancer, produced a genetically engineered vaccine against hepatitis B and a rapid diagnostic test for the detection of the Helicobacter pylori bacterium which is implicated in the formation of stomach ulcers. Other research in progress includes the study of cancer and specifically the investigation of the role of oncogenes, the identification of tumor markers for diagnostic tests and the development of new treatments. One area of particular interest is the study of human papilloma viruses (HPV) and their role in cervical cancers. Researchers are currently focusing on the development of various vaccines against many diseases including AIDS, malaria, dengue fever and the Shigella bacterium.

Currently, an extensive line of research aims at determining the complete genome sequences of several organisms of medical importance, in the hope of finding new therapeutic approaches. The Institute has contributed to genome-sequencing projects of the common yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae, an organism which was so important for Louis Pasteur's history), completed in 1996, Bacillus subtilis completed in 1997, Mycobacterium tuberculosis completed in 1998.

Teaching Center

Since its founding, the Institut Pasteur has brought together scientists from many different disciplines for postgraduate study. Today, approximately 300 graduate students and 500 postdoctoral trainees from close to 40 different countries participate in postgraduate study programs at the Institute. They include pharmacists and veterinarians, as well as doctors, chemists and other scientists.

Epidemiological Reference Center

Strains of bacteria and viruses from many different countries are sent to the Institute's reference center for identification. In addition to maintaining this vital epidemiological resource, the Institute serves as advisor to the French government and the World Health Organization (WHO) of the United Nations. Pasteur scientists also help to monitor epidemics and control outbreaks of infectious diseases throughout the world. These activities have created a close collaboration between the Institute and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Vaccines and Diagnostic Products

Production and marketing of diagnostic tests developed in the Institute laboratories are the responsibility of Sanofi Diagnostics Pasteur, a subsidiary of the French pharmaceutical firm Sanofi, while production and marketing of vaccines are the responsibility of Pasteur Mérieux, Sérums et Vaccins.

Structure and Support

As a private, non-profit organization, the Institut Pasteur is governed by an independent Board of Directors, currently chaired by François Ailleret. The Director General of the Pasteur Institute is Alice Dautry.

By drawing financial support from many different sources, the Institute protects its autonomy and guarantees the independence of its scientists. The Institute's funding includes French government subsidies, consulting fees, licensing royalties, contract revenue and private contributions.

Source

• Adapted from Institut Pasteur presentation
• The History of Institut Pasteur
• Fondation Mérieux
• Institut Pasteur Montevideo