- 2016
- What's on? - 06.01.2016
The intestinal microbiota: a burgeoning research subject
Interest in the intestinal microbiota, or intestinal flora, has grown considerably in recent years. In 2015, over 4,500 scientific studies on the subject were published in PubMed. The intestinal microbiota is an ecosystem made up of 100,000 billion bacteria that colonise our digestive tract from the time we are born. Each host has his/her […]
- Press releases - 04.01.2016
Beginning of life: how does symmetry come into play?
The first embryonic division, which follows gamete fusion (oocyte and spermatozoon), starts the development of a new individual, the genesis of a functional adult body. This division is symmetric in the one-cell embryo stage (also known as the zygote); it leads to the formation of two daughter cells of identical size. Conversely, it is asymmetric in the oocyte, which has the same size and shape as the zygote. Why? What directs the zygote to divide symmetrically, while the oocyte divides asymmetrically during meiosis? Such are the questions pondered by Marie-Emilie Terret, a researcher at Inserm, and Marie-Hélène Verlhac, a researcher at CNRS and director of the Asymmetric Divisions in Oocytes team at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Biology (CIRB; Inserm/CNRS/Collège de France).
- 2015
- Press releases - 22.12.2015
The mechanism of an AIDS vaccine candidate filmed in vivo
Using innovative technology, scientists from the Institut Pasteur and Inserm have filmed in vivo the process by which an AIDS vaccine candidate, developed by the French Vaccine Research Institute and the ANRS, triggers the immune response. This previously unseen footage clearly shows how the vaccine recruits the immune cells needed to destroy infected cells. These results, published in the journal Nature Medicine on December 21, 2015, shed new light on the mode of action and potential of this vaccine.
- Press releases - 16.12.2015
Brand new intervertebral discs for back pain
Throughout life, extremely heavy demands are made on the spinal column. Spinal wear very soon affects the quality of life, and back pain is often described as the illness of the century. 40% of back pain may be due to irreversible deterioration of the intervertebral discs (which act as “cushions” between the vertebrae), which can no longer play their role as shock absorbers. Researchers from Inserm led by Jérôme Guicheux (Inserm Unit 791, “Laboratory of Osteoarticular and Dental Tissue Engineering,” Nantes) have successfully transformed adipose stem cells into cells that might be able to replace damaged discs. This work is published in the journal Stem cells.
- Press releases - 14.12.2015
Seasonal epidemic diseases: surveillance continues
The Sentinelles network, developed by Inserm and Pierre and Marie Curie University (UPMC), is a national surveillance system made up of 1,300 general practitioners and about a hundred private paediatricians, which allows the creation of large databases for several diseases, for purposes of health monitoring and research. The Sentinelles physicians collect information from their patients […]
- What's on? - 14.12.2015
Seasonal epidemic diseases: surveillance continues
The Sentinelles network, developed by Inserm and Pierre and Marie Curie University (UPMC), is a national surveillance system made up of 1,300 general practitioners and about a hundred private paediatricians, which allows the creation of large databases for several diseases, for purposes of health monitoring and research. The Sentinelles physicians collect information from their patients […]
- Press releases - 08.12.2015
Inserm recruiting about 300 volunteers to test vaccine against the Ebola virus
Although the acute stage of the Ebola epidemic in West Africa is behind us, the need for research to find preventative measures remains urgent. The global community shares the same goal: to prevent future epidemics as catastrophic as the one we have witnessed over the past two years.
To this end, Inserm is coordinating the Ebovac2 project, a collaborative effort, funded under a grant from the Innovative Medicines Initiative Ebola+ programme. The project was launched in response to the Ebola virus disease outbreak, to assess the safety and immunogenicity of a novel ‘prime-boost’ preventative vaccine regimen against Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). In France, clinical research centres specialised in vaccination are now recruiting approximately 300 healthy volunteers from 18 to 65 years old. The project is coordinated by Inserm under the scientific responsibility of Professor Rodolphe Thiébaut (Inserm Unit U897).
- Press releases - 08.12.2015
Individual susceptibility to liver toxicity of alcohol depends on the intestinal microbiota
Despite excessive alcohol consumption, some individuals remain in good health while others develop liver disease. This inequality regarding the toxicity of alcohol for the liver depends on the intestinal microbiota. This has just been demonstrated by scientists and physicians from Paris-Sud University, Inserm, AP-HP (Antoine-Béclère Hospital), INRA (French National Institute for Agricultural Research), AgroParitech and Aix-Marseille University. These results are published online in the journal Gut.
- Press releases - 03.12.2015
Innate lymphoid cells: a backup system for fighting intestinal infections
Éric Vivier’s team at Marseille-Luminy Immunology Center (CIML), a CNRS, Inserm and Aix-Marseille University research centre, in collaboration with Gabrielle Belz’s team at Walter and Elisa Hall Institute (WEHI), Melbourne, sheds new light on the dynamics of the immune networks that protect our intestine. During episodes of bacterial diarrhoea, innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) “share the work” with memory T lymphocytes, but can also compensate for them in the event of failure.
The authors also show that ILCs protect the appendix from potential damage caused by infection, a finding that may confer a new status on this organ. These discoveries are presented this Monday, 30 November, in the scientific journal Nature Immunology. - Press releases - 02.12.2015
Benzodiazepine use is associated with a risk of developing dementia
A link between benzodiazepine use and the occurrence of dementia has been observed in a study, the results of which are published in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia, conducted by a team of Inserm researchers directed by Christophe Tzourio (Inserm Unit 897, “Epidemiology and Biostatistics Center,” Univ ersity of Bordeaux). More precisely, it is mainly the long half-life benzodiazepines (which disappear from the body in over 20 hours) that are associated with the risk of dementia. In this study, people taking long half-life benzodiazepines have a 60% increased risk of dementia.