Leigh MacMillan

Glucose metabolism influences B cell function

Glucose metabolism influences the qualities of activated, mature B cells — white blood cells that are required for antibody-mediated immune responses, Vanderbilt researchers discovered.

Mariana Byndloss, DVM, PhD, (left), graduate student Catherine Shelton, and their colleagues discovered that beneficial bacteria in the small intestines produce a compound that protects against obesity. (photo by Erin O. Smith)

Gut microbiota metabolite protects against obesity: study

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that beneficial bacteria in the small intestines produce a compound that protects against obesity.

Pasteurization reduces bioactive component of breast milk

Pasteurization of breast milk affects the concentration of osteopontin, a bioactive protein with roles in intestinal, immunological and brain development — suggesting that osteopontin supplementation should be considered when donor milk is provided to preterm infants.

Commensal gut bacterium protects from severe intestinal infection

The commensal bacterium Turicibacter sanguinis could be used to protect against severe intestinal infections, Vanderbilt researchers discovered.

A C. diff bacterium (green) with iron particles in red, shown in a reconstructed electron tomogram from STEM-EDS. (image courtesy of James McBride)

Novel C. diff structures are required for infection, offer new therapeutic targets

Vanderbilt research discovers that iron storage “spheres” inside the bacterium C. diff — the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections — are important for infection in an animal model and could offer new targets for antibacterial drugs.

Randika “Randy” Perera, PhD, left, Wenhan Zhu, PhD, Walter Chazin, PhD, Luisella Spiga, PhD, Ryan Fansler and colleagues discovered that beneficial bacteria in the gut impact the competition that occurs between host cells and pathogens for the essential nutrient iron. (photo by Erin O. Smith)

Study discovers role for gut bacteria in host-pathogen competition for nutrients

Vanderbilt research shows that commensal gut microbes impact the host-pathogen competition for iron and has implications for therapeutic strategies aimed at preventing pathogens from acquiring essential nutrients.

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