Understanding how cells communicate in the membranes surrounding the developing fetus could suggest new strategies for preventing infections, premature birth and adverse pregnancy outcomes.

An enzyme called PTEN reduces inflammatory signaling and mortality in sepsis, suggesting it may be a good therapeutic target for this life-threatening complication of infection.

A new probe enables iron imaging in living animals, providing a unique tool for studying iron’s contributions to health and disease.

Too much dietary manganese — an essential trace mineral found in leafy green vegetables, fruits and nuts — promotes infection of the heart by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (“staph”).

Vanderbilt investigators are probing the response to a bacterial toxin as a clinical assessment of immune function.

Vanderbilt researchers show that a certain factor negatively impacts the first-line responder cells in the lungs, providing one explanation for why patients with asthma are at greater risk for invasive bacterial disease.

A new animal model can be used to “dissect” the inflammatory response to infection.