Frequent and major outbreaks of meningococcal meningitis have swept through countries in the "African meningitis belt", a region south of the Sahara that stretches from Senegal to Ethiopia, for over a century. To tackle this public health emergency, a group A polysaccharide tetanus toxoid conjugate vaccine (also called MenAfriVac) was developed against meningococcus. Using data from several studies and drawing on a statistical mathematical model, scientists from the Institut Pasteur have sought to investigate the long-term vaccine response of this vaccine.

Depuis plus d’un siècle, de fréquentes et importantes épidémies de méningites à méningocoques frappent les pays de la « ceinture africaine de la méningite », une région au sud du Sahara qui s'étend du Sénégal à l’Éthiopie. En réponse à cette urgence de santé publique, un vaccin conjugué polysaccharide-anatoxine tétanique du groupe A contre le méningocoque (également appelé MenAfriVac) a été mis au point.

The innate immune response represents an important natural process providing a critical line of defense against infection and cancer. Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) play a key role in this early immune response. Researchers at the Institut Pasteur's Innate Immunity Unit (Inserm U1223) examining how these cells develop have identified new ILC precursors. This discovery constitutes a revolution for specialists in the field and could have an impact on ILC-based human cell therapy.

La réponse immunitaire innée est un processus naturel très important qui constitue le premier rempart de l’organisme contre les agressions. Les cellules lymphoïdes innées (ou Innate Lymphoid cells, ILC, en anglais) représentent un élément majeur de cette réponse immunitaire précoce. Des chercheurs de l’unité Immunité innée/Inserm U1223, à l’Institut Pasteur, qui étudient le développement de ces cellules, ont identifié de nouveaux précurseurs des ILC.

When cancer escapes the immune system, our defenses are rendered powerless and are unable to fight against the disease. Chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR T cells) represent a promising immunotherapy strategy, developed with the aim of tackling tumors head-on. But the occurrence of relapse in some patients remains a challenge. Scientists at the Institut Pasteur have identified the precise function of CAR T cells in a bid to optimize future therapies.

During the Monaco Ocean Week*, on Thursday 28 March, His Serene Highness, the Sovereign Prince Albert II, in the presence of Professor Stewart Cole, Director General of the Institut Pasteur, awarded the "Prince Albert II of Monaco - Institut Pasteur" prize to Professor Joacim Rocklöv for his research work on climate-related arbovirus epidemics. Since 2012, this prize has been awarded to researchers who have made significant contributions to the study of the impact of environmental changes on human health.

Hepatitis B is a viral liver infection that can lead to acute or chronic conditions. Although there is a vaccine that offers protection against the virus, current treatments which prevent the virus from replicating are not curative for infected individuals. Scientists at the Institut Pasteur working in collaboration with the CNRS have demonstrated that a cellular protein is capable of acting as a restriction factor for the hepatitis B virus by degrading the viral DNA.

The renewal of the status of the International Pasteur Association Network- APIN "as a non-state actor in official relations" with WHO was confirmed by the Executive Board on 31 January 2019 for 3 years in accordance with a 2019-2021 collaboration plan, submitted in autumn 2018.

A l’occasion de la Monaco Ocean Week*, le jeudi 28 mars, Son Altesse Sérénissime le Prince Souverain Albert II a remis, en présence du Professeur Stewart Cole, directeur général de l’Institut Pasteur, le prix « Prince Albert II de Monaco – Institut Pasteur » au Professeur Joacim Rocklöv pour ses travaux de recherche sur les épidémies à arboviroses liées au climat. Ce prix récompense depuis 2012 un chercheur ayant particulièrement contribué à l’étude de l’impact des changements environnementaux sur la santé humaine.