The 59th ASA Report on the world's most important International Institutes/Laboratories and NBC Schools/Academies
The G. Eliava Institute of Bacteriophages, Microbiology and Virology
Tbilisi, Georgia
Mzia Kutateladze
Head Scientific Council
G. Eliava Inistitute
The G.Eliava Institute of Bacteriophages, Microbiology and Virology (IBMV) is the world reknown center on bacteriophage research and applied microbiology.
The Eliava Institute was established in 1916 as a central biological laboratory by Georgian scientist George Eliava. During his visits to the Pasteur's Institute in Paris, in 1921-26, Eliava worked extensively with the distinguished Canadian scientist Felix D'Herell, the discoverer of the phage phenomenon. Working together these two scientists found that their friendship and scientific interest had joined them for possible future endeavors.
According to their initial plans, Eliava's newly established Institute was to be developed into the World Center of Bacteriophage research in 1923. D'Herell visited Tbilisi several times, but their plan could not be realized due to an unfavorable political situation. Unfortunately and with great sadness for all, Eliava was arrested and executed in 1937 and D'Herell was never to come back to Georgia. However, Eliava's colleagues at the Institute shared his strong beliefs in the future of phage research and these studies were continued to be developed in Georgia.
The investigations have been performed at the Institute in several different directions: sera against diphtheria, tetanus, gangrene, scarlet fever, meningococcus and streptococcus; diphtheria antitoxin; and different types of intestinal vaccines, small-pox vaccine, and gono-vaccine. All were produced at the Institute, which was responsible for providing these preparations for several regions of the Soviet Union. On the other hand, the main activity of the Eliava Institute remained elaboration, improvement and production of bacteriophages against intestinal (dysentery, typhoid, enteric diseases, etc.) and purulent-septic infections (Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, E.coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, etc.). These preparations were successfully used for treatment, prophylaxis and diagnostics of various infectious diseases.
One of the largest bacterial and phage collections in the world has been developed and constructed at the Eliava Institute. More then 15 effective bacteriophage preparations were elaborated in The G. scientific laboratories and produced commercially by production units of the Institute. The products of the Eliava IBMV have been used for prophylaxis and treatment throughout the entire Former Soviet Union (FSU), in Public Health networks and in military forces. The phage preparations of the Eliava Institute such as "Pyophage", "Intesti-phage", "Pyoceaneus bacteriophages", "Intravenous Staphylococcal bacteriophage" have been awarded diplomas and medals at many national and international exhibitions. These phage preparations have become internationally known brand names.
Therapeutic bacteriophages have been administered to humans by many routes, including orally (liquid formulations or in special tablets designed to protect phages from gastric juice); rectally, to treat gastrointestinal and other infections; topically, to treat infections of the skin, eyes, ears etc.; via aerosols or intra-pleural injections and, in some occasions intravenously against septicemias.
From the very beginning the main scientific activity of the Institute remains the bacteriophage research. Many basic and practical studies have been aimed at the understanding of phage; its ecology, methods of isolation of phage active clones against aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, phage modification and adaptation on environmental conditions, morphology, biology, serology and taxonomy of virulent and temperate phages, phage-host bacterial cell interaction mechanisms, appearance and development of phage lysogeny and the elaboration of new types of phage preparations for effective phage-prophylaxis and therapy.
The break-down or dissolution of the former Soviet Union and the resulting economic difficulties in many former republics, including Georgia, did cause a severe hardship for the Eliava Institute. This profoundly reduced the Institute's ability to continue phage therapy research. The former well established and extensive production division was perfunctorily privatized and its resources diverted to other functions. The vast market in Russia and other former Soviet Republics became inaccessible. The animal facility was no longer available for antiserum production or for testing of efficacy or toxicity. However, even under these most difficult conditions, the phage therapy concept has remained alive in Georgia, and investigators have continued to develop new phage-based therapeutic preparations.
The emergence and re-emergence of life-threatening multi drug-resistant bacterial infections in the last two decades have provided a new insight into the requirements for and the potential of bacteriophages as an alternative remedy to antibiotics. The vast experience in phage development and preparation accumulated at the Eliava Institute in the treatment and prevention of bacterial infections is considered as one of the world's most valuable in the field. Eliava's abilities and experience are well noted and they do attract the interest of scientist and physicians world wide.
During the last several years, a number of new applications of phages has been developed. In 2000, the Georgian Ministry of Health approved a new preparation "PhageBioDerm", a highly effective wound-covering material which has been worked out with the collaboration of scientists from the Eliava Institute and the Georgian Technical University. PhageBioDerm has been constructed with a non-toxic bio-polymeric film impregnated with dried phage, pain-killer substances and a-chemotrypsin that causes a slow release of the various medicinal agents.
PhageBioDerm has also been successfully used for healing of ulcers that have failed to respond to conventional therapy. In 2003, this preparation was used to treat two Georgian lumberjacks with infected radiation burns after they discovered Soviet-era thermal generators containing Strontium-90. Not knowing what they had found, they used the generators to warm themselves during cold winter nights in their villages. As described before (Stone, Bacteriophage therapy. Stalin's forgotten cure. Science, 2002, 298), they had developed severe local radiation burns, which subsequently became infected with S.aureus. No approved treatment including antibiotics and topical ointments were successful and the infection could not be eliminated. One month after hospitalization, treatment with PhageBioDerm was initiated. Purulent drainage stopped within 2 to 7 days, and the ulcers were almost completely healed after treatment for a month. Phage development, preparation, and distribution have proven to be exceptionally important across the whole medical requirements spectrum.
Since 2003, the Eliava Institute has been involved in the Georgian-American "Biological Weapon Proliferation Prevention (BWPP) Program". This program has as its primary goals the consolidation and protection of the most dangerous pathogens, as well as scientific research on the detection, investigation and elaboration of methods for pathogens elimination. This program emphasizes the importance of the Eliava Institute for Georgia and the Caucasian region as a whole. The Institute performs research on the several pathogens that are under the concern of BWPP program: Bacillus anthracis, Brucella, Clostridium strains, Cholera spp. Several projects to elaborate the methods for their detection (phage, specific diagnosticum), treatment and prevention (phage, immunoglobulin) are implemented.
Today, the Eliava Institute aims its activity in several directions: molecular biological, immunological and biochemical research of bacteriophages that are included in therapeutic preparations; study of etiology of human and animal infectious diseases including those caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and elaboration of phage preparations for their diagnostic, therapy and prevention; elaboration of biological preparations, vaccines, immunological sera, and enzymes against highly contagious human and animal pathogens; ecological monitoring of bacterial pollution in water environments; working out a novel strategy for phage based bio-control of plant bacterial diseases.
Presently, research at the G.Eliava Institute is supported by the Georgian Government and through grant funding from the international organizations, such as the ISTC, CRDF, STCU, DTRA, NATO, INTAS. During the last 10 years, G.Eliava scientists were awarded 40 international research grants and fellowships for young scientists. In continuing its very important scientific pursuits, the Eliava Institute has an in-depth and fruitful collaboration with scientists from the US, UK, Germany, Belgium, France, Canada, Russia, and Uzbekistan.
Editor's Note: We are pleased to provide this well written and timely feature article on the very important G.Eliava Institute in Tblisi, Georgia. The ASA/CBMTS family are proud of Mzia and her colleagues at Eliava, who have done so much for so long with so little and who now have the international recognition they so well deserve. For information, please contact the author, Dr. Mzia Kutateladze at: kutateladze@pha.ge .
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