pathology microbiology and immunology Archives
Caught in a web: study reveals that immune cells cooperate to trap and kill bacteria
Sep. 10, 2021—Vanderbilt researchers have identified a new antibacterial mechanism that could inspire novel strategies for combating staph and other extracellular bacterial pathogens.
Autoimmunity advance
Aug. 24, 2021—Vanderbilt researchers have developed a high-throughput screening method to identify and characterize antigen-specific B cells — potential biomarkers for autoimmune disease and targets for new treatments.
Study reveals missing link between high-fat diet, microbiota and heart disease
Aug. 12, 2021—A high-fat diet disrupts the biology of the gut’s inner lining and its microbial communities — and promotes the production of a metabolite that may contribute to heart disease, according to a study published Aug. 13 in the journal Science.
Study identifies biomarker for breast cancer response to immunotherapy
Aug. 12, 2021—A biomarker that has proven to be a predictor for response to immunotherapies in melanoma patients also has clinical relevance for breast cancer patients, according to a new study published in Clinical Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Automation brings in new era for Clinical Chemistry Lab
Jul. 29, 2021—Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Core Clinical Chemistry Laboratory recently celebrated the launch of its faster, higher-volume automated chemistry line.
Study identifies monoclonal antibodies that may neutralize many norovirus variants
Jul. 16, 2021—Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, have taken a big step toward developing targeted treatments and vaccines against a family of viruses that attacks the gastrointestinal tract.
Therapeutic antibodies for hantavirus
May. 24, 2021—Vanderbilt Vaccine Center researchers have isolated monoclonal antibodies against hantaviruses, an emerging source of human disease with pandemic potential.
Heparin, platelets discouraged as treatment for blood clots after COVID vaccine
May. 12, 2021—Heparin and platelets are discouraged as treatment for patients who develop blood clots in the brain and low platelet counts 6-15 days after receiving Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine, following a clinical investigation review of 12 U.S. cases conducted by the CDC and institutions including Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Study finds that regulatory protein prevents signaling that triggers cell death
May. 6, 2021—A protein implicated in neurodegenerative diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis prevents the activation of an innate immune response that leads to cell death, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.
Study revises understanding of cancer metabolism
Apr. 7, 2021—Tumors consume glucose at high rates, but a team of Vanderbilt researchers has discovered that cancer cells themselves are not the culprit, upending models of cancer metabolism that have been developed and refined over the last 100 years.
Novel way to neutralize Rift Valley Fever Virus
Apr. 1, 2021—The discovery of monoclonal antibodies that neutralize Rift Valley Fever Virus — an emerging infection with pandemic potential — lays the foundation for future therapeutic antibody development.
Team studies new use for pulmonary hypertension drug
Mar. 25, 2021—An FDA-approved medication enhances the function of T regulatory cells (Treg), a class of immune cells that restrains the immune response, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered.