gut

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)
December 8, 2023

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.

By Leigh MacMillan
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)
October 27, 2023

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.

By Leigh MacMillan
Wenhan Zhu, PhD, recently received a research award from the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Foundation.
March 23, 2023

Mathers Foundation award supports study of bacterial physiology

Vanderbilt’s Wenhan Zhu, PhD, has received a three-year award from the G. Harold and Leila Y. Mathers Foundation to support his research that aims to answer a fundamental question about bacterial physiology and engineer probiotics to improve gut inflammatory diseases.

By Leigh MacMillan
February 6, 2023

Gut microbiota and lung fibrosis

Microorganisms residing in the gut influence the severity of lung fibrosis in mouse models, suggesting that modifying the gut microbiota may offer therapeutic benefit for patients.

By Leigh MacMillan
January 19, 2023

Is drinking tea good for your gut?

Microbiome profiling of older Chinese adults showed that tea drinking changed the diversity and abundance of some bacteria in men but not women — effects that may contribute to a reduced risk of hypertension.

By Sarah E. Glass
February 3, 2022

Team to study using probiotics to reduce heart disease risk

A Vanderbilt research team has received a $7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to understand how alcohol’s effect on the gut microbiome drives heart disease.

By Matt Batcheldor
August 12, 2021

Study reveals missing link between high-fat diet, microbiota and heart disease

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.
By Leigh MacMillan
October 20, 2020

Preserving gut mucus architecture

A new method that keeps microbes and gut cells together will be useful for studies of complex host-microbe interactions and for analysis of clinical specimens.
By Leigh MacMillan
August 13, 2019

Host-microbe interactions in the gut

Vanderbilt investigators demonstrated that intestinal cells promote beneficial microbe behavior — the findings support developing microbiota-based therapies for intestinal health.
By Leigh MacMillan
February 14, 2019

Adhesion protein optimizes border

Matthew Tyska and colleagues have found that an adhesion protein plays a key role in building the intestinal brush border that is essential for absorbing nutrients.
By Leigh MacMillan
September 13, 2018

How microvilli form

A protein called IRTKS helps build the microvilli that form the border of cells in the intestines, explaining why the protein is a frequent target of gut pathogens.
By Sanjay Mishra
July 19, 2018

Novel insights on “leaky” gut

A protein involved in binding cells together helps maintain the integrity of the intestinal mucosa and plays a protective role in ulcerative colitis.
By Niyati Vachharajani
November 30, 2017

Lineage tracing in the gut

Vanderbilt investigators have developed an algorithm to classify cell types from experimental data, making it possible to understand how organs develop.
By Bill Snyder
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