Genetic mutations in PMP22 (peripheral myelin protein 22) cause a variety of peripheral neuropathies, underscoring the importance of the protein to a healthy peripheral nervous system. But the precise function of PMP22, a major component of the myelin sheath that surrounds and insulates peripheral nerve cell axons, has been unclear.

Based on findings from Vanderbilt investigators and others, clinical trials of estrogen inhibition for pulmonary arterial hypertension have recently been approved and funded by the National Institutes of Health.

Using bioinformatics approaches, Vanderbilt investigators have identified gene expression networks that are deregulated in mouse and human stomach cancers.

The histone deacetylase HDAC3 is required for the maturation of B cells, white blood cells that produce antibodies.

Vanderbilt researchers have found that non-coding regions of the genome appear to contribute to the risk of autoimmune diseases and may represent attractive therapeutic targets.

Signaling through a complex of proteins called mTORC2 plays a role in breast cancer migration, invasion and metastasis, Vanderbilt researchers reported.