NIGMS

July 14, 2020

New tools to study bioactive lipids

Vanderbilt researchers have identified and characterized inhibitors of an enzyme that synthesizes lipid signaling molecules with roles in energy balance, inflammation and addiction.

By Leigh MacMillan
July 9, 2020

Recurrent UTIs linked to hidden reservoir

Bacterial invasion of vaginal cells sets up a protective niche and a reservoir for recurrent urinary tract infections, Vanderbilt researchers demonstrated.

By Sarah E. Glass
June 18, 2020

Probing DNA damage repair

After discovering a new mechanism for DNA damage repair last year, Vanderbilt biochemists now provide direct evidence for how it works.

By Leigh MacMillan
June 12, 2020

Robotic technology speeds arrhythmia gene classification

Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have used high-throughput robotic technology to rapidly study and classify variations in a gene linked to heart rhythm disorders and cardiac conditions.

By Leigh MacMillan
June 10, 2020

C. diff captures blood cell cofactor to build defensive shield

Vanderbilt University Medical Center scientists have identified a C. diff protein system that senses and captures heme (part of hemoglobin) to build a protective shield that fends off threats from our immune system and antibiotics.

By Leigh MacMillan
June 4, 2020

Protecting the injured kidney

Leslie Gewin and colleagues have upended conventional dogma about Wnt/beta-catenin signaling in the kidney, finding that it protects against chronic kidney disease rather than promoting it.

By Leigh MacMillan
June 3, 2020

Study explores how staph bacteria can survive in bone

A comprehensive evaluation of the metabolic pathways that support Staphylococcus aureus (“staph”) growth during invasive bone infections could offer new targets for treatment.
By Leigh MacMillan
May 19, 2020

Probing innate immunity

Manuel Ascano team validates an inhibitor of the cGAS-STING signaling pathway, which is important for cellular innate immunity against bacteria, viruses, and our own damaged DNA.
By Leigh MacMillan
May 14, 2020

The adaptable anthrax bacterium

Vanderbilt researchers discover how anthrax bacterium defends itself against structural damage and resists the toxicity of the antimicrobial drug targocil.
By Leigh MacMillan
May 5, 2020

A dual-purpose metabolic switch

John York and colleagues have demonstrated that the protein Vip1 is a rare type of bifunctional enzyme: it can both synthesize and destroy key cellular signaling molecules.
By Leigh MacMillan
April 20, 2020

Damage, disruption, delirium

New findings suggest that treatments that decrease oxidative damage might help with postoperative delirium that occurs in up to 30% of cardiac surgery patients.
By Paul Govern
April 16, 2020

‘Tuning’ cell shape for division

Dylan Burnette and colleagues have discovered that two forms of the molecular motor protein myosin have distinct roles in regulating cell shape during cell division.
By Leigh MacMillan
April 16, 2020

Transporter’s role in gut barrier

A disease-associated mutation in a transporter protein impairs gut barrier function, leading to gastrointestinal disease and chronic infections.
By Leigh MacMillan
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