Recherches sur la toxine des Coelenteres et les phenomenes d'anaphylaxie. [Research on the toxin of Coelenterates and the phenomena of anaphylaxis] by Richet, Charles and Portier, Paul - 1936: des Campagnes Scientifiques Accomplis sur son Yacht par Albert 1er Prince Souverain de Monaco. Fascicule XCV

Monaco: Imprimerie de Monaco, 1936.

A HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY OF ANAPHYLAXIS BY RICHET WHO WON THE NOBEL PRIZE AND PORTIER, PHYSICIAN AND MARINE BIOLOGIST, PUBLISHED BY THE PRESS OF MONACO, COMEMMORATING THE ROLE OF PRINCE ALBERT IN 1901.

14 inches tall folio volume printed paper covers with original glassine overwraps, faint handstamp of Aquatic Research Institute to cover, [4], 24 pp. corners bumped, text unmaked, very good (French language).

CHARLES ROBERT RICHET (1850-1935) was a French physiologist who initially investigated a variety of subjects such as neurochemistry, digestion, thermoregulation in homeothermic animals, and breathing. He won the Nobel Prize in recognition of his work on anaphylaxis in 1913. In 1887 Richet was named professor of physiology at the Collège de France, and in 1898 he became a member of the Académie de Médecine. It was, however, his work with Paul Portier on anaphylaxis that in 1913 won him the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. This research helped elucidate hay fever, asthma and other allergic reactions to foreign substances and explained some previously not understood cases of intoxication and sudden death. In 1914 he became a member of the Académie des Sciences. In 1902, while researching the toxins produced by the Portuguese man-of-war and sea anemone, Richet and Portier injected dogs with sublethal does of these poisons in an attempt to convey immunity and determine experimentally the parameters of toxicity. To their surprise, they discovered that second doses of the poison caused shock and death in some of their experimental animals, leading them to conclude that the poison had an effect exactly opposite to the immunizing properties of serums, vaccines, etc.—instead of reinforcing the body's resistance to a foreign substance, a sublethal dose of the poison created a prolonged and sometimes deadly hypersensitivity to future doses.

PAUL PORTIER (1866-1962) received the M.D. and the degree of docteur ès sciences from the University of Paris, having worked there under Albert Dastre, who held the chair of general physiology. He was also the director of the Institut Océanographique, and as such supervised more than 100 doctoral dissertations. Portier's chief discovery grew out of his interest in marine biology. He was a regular member of the scientific staff that accompanied Albert I of Monaco on his summer oceanographic voyages on the Princesse Alice II. July 1901 Portier and a fellow physiologist, Charles Richet, professor at the Paris Faculty of Medicine, undertook the study of the nature of the contact toxin secreted by coelenterates. An abundant catch of Physalia was brought on board off the Cape Verde Islands, and Portier and Richet ground up some of the specimens with sand and seawater. They filtered the mixture, then injected the resulting fluid into pigeons and guinea pigs, which soon fell into a state of profound anesthesia. Portier and Richet then determined to investigate whether an immunity might be produced by the injection of repeated doses of the toxin at long intervals; since such long-term experimentation could not be performed at sea, they decided to resume their work in Paris. In their second series of experiments they injected a toxin derived from Actinia into dogs. Rather than becoming immune, the animals became sensitized to the toxin with repeated injections, and the toxic symptoms increased. In the most dramatic instance, a dog named Neptune received a weak injection that produced no effect; three days later the dose was repeated, again with no visible result. Three weeks later, however, Neptune had become hypersensitized to the degree that a third injection of the weak toxin caused him to collapse and die in a state of severe shock. Portier and Richet named this negative immunization "anaphylaxis" and by their experiment opened the new field of allergy studies. The scientific community only gradually realized that Portier had had a most significant role in this major discovery.

PRINCE ALBERT 1ST (HONORE CHARLES) GRIMALDI [1848 – 1922) was Prince of Monaco from 1889 until his death. His growing up on the shores of the Mediterranean and, as a young man, his service in the Spanish and French navies engendered an early and perpetuating passion for the sea; it deepened further into a combined avocation and serious study of oceanography and marine biology. For that pursuit, he acquired progressively larger and specially equipped yachts manned with an on-board scientific staff and fitted with laboratory apparatuses and specimen-holding tanks. In 1885, he initiated a series of cruises accompanied by distinguished guest scientists who joined him in the conduct of innovative oceanographic surveys that would contribute to advancements in the field. Albert I was also the "instigator and promulgator" of the oceanographic science he contributed to create. He founded the Institut océanographique, Foundation Albert I, Prince of Monaco in 1906, a private foundation recognized of public utility. It has two buildings: The Oceanographic Institute of Paris, now renamed Ocean House, and what became the world-renowned Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. This includes an aquarium, a museum, and a library, with research facilities in Paris.