Microbiology and Immunology

WORLD OF MICROBIOLOGY AND IMMUNOLOGY Montague, Mary Wortley

401

•

was possible to develop a test for antibodies that had devel-

oped against it—the HIV test. Montagnier and his group also

discovered that HIV attacks T4 cells, which are crucial in the

immune system. A second similar but not identical HIV virus

called HIV–2 was discovered by Montagnier and colleagues

in April 1986.

A controversy developed over the patent on the HIV test

in the mid–1980s. Robert C. Galloof the National Cancer

Institute in Bethesda, Maryland, announced his own discovery

of the HIV virus in April 1984 and received the patent on the

test. The Institut Pasteur claimed the patent (and the profits)

based on Montagnier’s earlier discovery of HIV. Despite the

controversy, Montagnier continued research and attended

numerous scientific meetings with Gallo to share information.

Intense mediation efforts by Jonas Salk(the scientist who

developed the first polio vaccine) led to an international agree-

ment signed by the scientists and their respective countries in

1987. Montagnier and Gallo agreed to be recognized as co-
      discoverers of the virus, and the two governments agreed that
      the profits of the HIV test be shared most going to a founda-
      tion for AIDS research).
      The scientific dispute continued to resurface, however.
      Most HIV viruses from different patients differ by six to
      twenty percent because of the remarkable ability of the virus
      to mutate. However, Gallo’s virus was less than two percent
      different from Montagnier’s, leading to the suspicion that both
      viruses were from the same source. The laboratories had
      exchanged samples in the early 1980s, which strengthened the
      suspicion. Charges of scientific misconduct on Gallo’s part led
      to an investigation by the National Institutes of Health in
      1991, which initially cleared Gallo. In 1992, the investigation
      was reviewed by the newly created Office of Research
      Integrity. The ORI report, issued in March of 1993, confirmed
      that Gallo had in fact “discovered” the virus sent to him by
      Montagnier. Whether Gallo had been aware of this fact in
      1983 could not be established, but it was found that he had
      been guilty of misrepresentations in reporting his research and
      that his supervision of his research lab had been desultory. The
      Institut Pasteur immediately revived its claim to the exclusive
      right to the patent on the HIV test. Gallo objected to the deci-
      sion by the ORI, however, and took his case before an appeals
      board at the Department of Health and Human Services. The
      board in December of 1993 cleared Gallo of all charges, and
      the ORI subsequently withdrew their charges for lack of proof.
      More than a decade after setting the personal consider-
      ations aside, in May of 2002, the two scientists announced a
      partnership in the effort to speed the development of a vaccine
      against AIDS. Gallo will oversee research from the Institute of
      Human Virology, while Montagnier pursues concurrent
      research as head of the World Foundation for AIDS Research
      and Prevention in New York, Rome, and Paris.
      Montagnier’s continuing work includes investigation of
      the envelope proteins of the virus that link it to the T-cell. He
      is also extensively involved in research of possible drugs to
      combat AIDS. In 1990, Montagnier hypothesized that a sec-
      ond organism, called a mycoplasma, must be present with the
      HIV virus for the latter to become deadly. This suggestion,

which has proved controversial among most AIDS

researchers, is the subject of ongoing research.

Montagnier married Dorothea Ackerman in 1961. The

couple has three children. He has described himself as an

aggressive researcher who spends much time in either the lab-

oratory or traveling to scientific meetings. Montagnier enjoys

swimming and classical music, and loves to play the piano,

especially Mozart sonatas.

See alsoAIDS, recent advances in research and treatment;

Immunodeficiency diseases; Viruses and responses to viral

infection

MONTAGUE, MARYWORTLEY

(1689-1762)Montague, Mary Wortley

English smallpox vaccination advocate

Lady Mary Wortley Montague contributed to microbiology and

immunologyby virtue of her powers of observation and her

passion for letter writing. As the wife of the British

Ambassador Extraordinary to the Turkish court, Montague and

her family lived in Istanbul. While there she observed and was

convinced of the protective power of inoculation against the

disease smallpox. She wrote to friends in England describing

inoculation and later, upon their return to England, she worked

to popularize the practice of inoculation in that country.

Montague’s interest in smallpox stemmed from her

brush with the disease in 1715, which left her with a scarred

face and lacking eyebrows, and also from the death of her

brother from the disease. While posted in Istanbul, she was

introduced to the practice of inoculation. Material picked from

a smallpox scab on the surface of the skin was rubbed into an

open cut of another person. The recipient would usually

develop a mild case of smallpox but would never be ravaged by

the full severity of the disease caused by more virulent strains

of the smallpox virus. Lady Montague was so enthused by the

protection offered against smallpox that she insisted on having

her children inoculated. In 1718, her three-year-old son was

inoculated. In 1721, having returned to England, she insisted

that her English doctor inoculate her five-year-old daughter.

Upon her return to England following the expiration of

her husband’s posting, Montague used her standing in the high

society of the day to promote the benefits of smallpox inocu-

lation. Her passion convinced a number of English physicians

and even the reigning Queen, who decreed that the royal chil-

dren and future heirs to the crown would be inoculated against

the disease. In a short time, it became fashionable to be one of

those who had received an inoculation, partly perhaps because

it was a benefit available only to the wealthy. Inoculation

became a sign of status.

Smallpox outbreaks of the eighteenth century in

England demonstrated the effectiveness of inoculation. The

death rate among those who had been inoculated against

smallpox was far less than among the uninoculated.

A few decades later, Edward Jennerrefined the inocula-

tion process by devising a vaccinefor smallpox. History has

womi_M 5/7/03 7:53 AM Page 401