NIH launches surprise Gallo investigation

Article Abstract:

Although the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have decided that many allegations concerning the putative ''theft'' by Robert Gallo of the AIDS virus from French researcher Luc Montagnier are without substance, it now plans a formal investigation of the issue. This will focus on possible misconduct associated with misleading wording and missing data, rather than on the larger question of theft. Gallo convinced the NIH that, with several other isolates of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus, the agent associated with AIDS) already present in his laboratory, he had no need to take the French virus (called LAV). He did not rule out the possibility of contamination of his strains by LAV. NIH, however, by continuing its investigation, appears still under the impression that more than contamination went on. The current focus is the source of the HTLV-IIIB (human T cell lymphocyte virus, type 3) used by Gallo's group to develop a blood test for AIDS. Mikulas Popovic, Gallo's chief virologist and the person who grew viruses during the period in question (1983-1984), will also be questioned. Questions raised in the Chicago Tribune regarding misleading data about five viral isolates led to the NIH inquiry; according to John Crewdson (the author of the Tribune article), HTLV-III was likely to have been derived from LAV. The new investigation, as was the first, will be conducted by the NIH Office of Scientific Inquiry with the help of a panel of advisors and a panel selected by the National Academy of Science. The latter organization called for a full investigation months before it was actually initiated. Gallo maintains that he may have been ''sloppy,'' but denies that anything was wrongfully taken. The request for the NIH investigation came from Representative John Dingell, head of the Energy and Commerce investigations subcommittee. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Fraud in science, Science fraud

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AIDS dispute: time not right for Gallo

Article Abstract:

A press conference with Robert Gallo, concerning the dispute over who was the first to discover HIV (human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS, the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) was to be held the first week of May 1990, in West Germany. However, the press conference was cancelled when it was decided that publicity on the continued dispute would be a detriment to science at this time. Gallo wanted to give his side of the story in West Germany where the press had printed statements from a French newspaper saying that Gallo should accept the fact that researcher Luc Montagnier at the Pasteur Institute was the first to identify HIV. These statements may breach a treaty, agreed upon in 1987 between France and the United States, which states that Gallo and Montagnier were co-discoverers of the virus. The US National Institutes of Health is holding an inquiry to investigate allegations that the HIV isolated by Gallo actually came from samples obtained by Montagnier. These allegations stemmed from an article, written by John Crewdson and published in the Chicago Tribune newspaper, which questioned whether the virus isolated by Gallo is actually the same as that isolated by Montagnier from an AIDS patient, for which he has a patent. Montagnier sent Gallo a sample of his virus in 1983; the dispute asks if Gallo used that virus to develop an antibody test for HIV. There is genetic variability between various isolates of HIV, but the DNA sequences of the viruses from both laboratories are the similar. Therefore, Gallo's virus may be from Montagnier's sample. Inconsistencies in Gallo's laboratory reports, regarding the dates of experiments and sources of virus samples, were also noted by Crewdson. The inquiry should be completed by the middle of the summer in 1990. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Research

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Assumptions of AIDS inquiry challenged

Article Abstract:

Both Robert Gallo's group at the National Cancer Institute and Luc Montagnier's group at the Pasteur Institute in Paris claim to be the first to isolate the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes AIDS. The specific HIV viruses that the two different research groups isolated were compared, and they were found to be almost identical. It is questionable whether viruses that are this similar could come from two unrelated patients. Genetic variation occurs among viruses isolated from different individuals, and even among isolates from the same individual. An inquiry is being conducted by the National Institutes of Health as to the origin of the HIV that Gallo's group says it isolated. There are allegations that the virus isolated by Gallo's group actually came from samples provided by Montagnier. It is known that the cells from Gallo's laboratory were cultured with cells sent from Montagnier's laboratory, but that the cells were thought to be free of virus. However, the French group has records stating that infected cells were sent to Gallo's laboratory. It is possible that the cells Gallo used to grow the virus were contaminated with the other virus or with other cells that were infected with the virus. The patients that the original viruses were isolated from are being traced to see if the viruses can be isolated again and to see if they are indeed similar. The final verdict on the origin of the viruses should be disclosed by the end of September 1990. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Montagnier, Luc

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