Aliquots - Research Briefs

September 12, 2022

Enhancing innate immunity in the lung

Vanderbilt researchers show that a TLR4 agonist improves lung immune response and survival in a mouse model of bacterial pneumonia, supporting the development of this drug to protect against pneumonia in hospitalized patients.

By Leigh MacMillan
September 8, 2022

PheWAS reveals post-COVID-19 diagnoses

Using a high-throughput informatics technique and electronic health records, Vanderbilt researchers found that COVID-19 survivors had an increased risk for more than 40 new diagnoses.

By Bill Snyder
September 8, 2022

Immune cells drive beta cell loss in Type 2 diabetes

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered details of pancreatic beta cell loss — and potential therapeutic targets — during conditions of overnutrition, as occurs in obesity.

By Kelsey Pinckard
August 30, 2022

A new mechanism for lupus

Vanderbilt researchers describe a new mechanism for the most common form of lupus and suggest a new treatment approach to this autoimmune disease.

By Leigh MacMillan
August 29, 2022

Blood cancer progression

Vanderbilt researchers used single-cell technologies to explore the accumulation of mutations during blood cancer progression, which could help identify strategies for preventing leukemia before it occurs.

By Leigh MacMillan
August 25, 2022

Rheumatoid arthritis and heart disease: a common path

An increase in certain antibodies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis can serve as a predictive biomarker for cardiovascular disease, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.

By Bill Snyder
August 25, 2022

Inflammatory driver of obesity

Blocking the EGF receptor signaling pathway in immune system macrophages represents a new target for improving insulin resistance in people with obesity.
By Sarah E. Glass
August 16, 2022

Nanoparticles boost anti-cancer immunity

An ingenious targeted nanoparticle approach developed by Vanderbilt researchers reduced tumor burden in a model of ovarian cancer.
By Bill Snyder
August 15, 2022

Mitochondria and retinal degeneration

Vanderbilt researchers have developed a new cellular model for exploring mitochondrial dysfunction in age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in people over 65.
By Leigh MacMillan
August 11, 2022

Genotype-specific blood counts

Vanderbilt researchers report genotype-specific reference ranges to improve interpretation of laboratory blood results in African Americans with a common gene variant that lowers white blood cell counts.
By Leigh MacMillan
August 11, 2022

Cell-free breast cancer “biopsy”

The circulating DNA that tumors release is a reliable metric of tumor genomics and can be used to monitor molecular changes in metastatic breast cancer.
By Sarah E. Glass
August 2, 2022

Targeted cancer drug during pregnancy

The targeted cancer therapy alectinib was safe as a treatment for lung cancer during two pregnancies in a patient with non-small cell lung cancer, according to a case report from Vanderbilt physicians.
By Leigh MacMillan
August 1, 2022

H. pylori and lung cancer

Specific biomarkers for H. pylori — a bacterium that infects the stomach — were associated with increased risk of lung cancer, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.
By Leigh MacMillan