Author: Leigh MacMillan

From left, Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, Bradley Reinfeld, Matthew Madden and Jeffrey Rathmell, PhD, have discovered that immune cells — not cancer cells — are the major glucose consumers in the tumor microenvironment, upending a century-old observation.

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.

Genetic differences in Wilms tumor

Apr. 6, 2021—Unique somatic gene mutations may contribute to racial disparities in the incidence of Wilms tumor — the most common childhood kidney cancer.

Codeine metabolizer status in clinical practice

Apr. 5, 2021—Vanderbilt researchers have developed a response score using genetic and clinical information to aid prescribing of the widely used pain medication codeine.

Deanna Edwards, PhD, left, Jin Chen, MD, PhD, and colleagues are studying a new therapeutic strategy for triple-negative breast cancer.

Breast cancer cells ‘steal’ nutrients from immune cells: study

Apr. 1, 2021—Triple-negative breast cancer cells engage in a “glutamine steal” — outcompeting T cells for the nutrient glutamine and impairing their ability to kill tumor cells, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.

NYU’s Tsien to discuss brain plasticity at next Discovery Lecture

Mar. 29, 2021—Richard Tsien, PhD, director of the Neuroscience Institute at NYU Langone Medical Center, will deliver the next web-based Discovery Lecture.

Allison Norlander, PhD, R. Stokes Peebles, MD, and colleagues are studying an approved drug that enhances immune cells and might be useful for treating inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

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.

Prostate cancer microenvironment

Mar. 23, 2021—Distinct cancer-associated fibroblasts in the prostate tumor microenvironment may influence tumor progression and could point to new therapeutic targets.

HIV, diabetes and immune cells in fat

Mar. 18, 2021—In HIV-positive individuals with diabetes, immune cells in fat are more proinflammatory and cytotoxic and may represent a therapeutic target for diabetes.

Roden honored with Oscar B. Hunter Career Award in Therapeutics

Mar. 15, 2021—Dan Roden, MD, Senior Vice President for Personalized Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, received the Oscar B. Hunter Career Award in Therapeutics last week at the virtual annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics.

Electronic health record study discovers novel hormone deficiency

Mar. 11, 2021—A novel hormone deficiency may exist in humans, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered. In an analysis of two decades worth of electronic health records, the researchers found that some patients have unexpectedly low levels of natriuretic peptide hormone in clinical situations that should cause high levels of the hormone.

Markers for breast cancer progression

Mar. 9, 2021—Vanderbilt researchers clarify how a microRNA associated with triple-negative breast cancer survival inhibits cancer progression, suggesting new treatment strategies.

Temperature, newts and a skin-eating fungus

Mar. 8, 2021—Salamanders are more sensitive to a skin-eating fungus at colder temperatures, pointing to locations of North America where pathogen invasion is most likely.