Department of Cell and Developmental Biology Archives
Breast cancer cells ‘steal’ nutrients from immune cells: study
Apr. 1, 2021—Triple-negative breast cancer cells engage in a “glutamine steal” — outcompeting T cells for the nutrient glutamine and impairing their ability to kill tumor cells, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.
Genetic clues in eye birth defect
Feb. 18, 2021—Sabine Fuhrmann and colleagues have discovered a novel underlying cause of coloboma — a birth defect that causes missing tissue in the eye and accounts for up to 10% of childhood blindness.
WIN for blocking cancer growth
Jan. 21, 2021—William Tansey and colleagues identified proteins that interact with the cancer drug target WDR5 and are important for cancer cell growth.
New therapeutic target for lung cancer
Nov. 12, 2020—Vanderbilt researchers have identified a new molecular partner — and potential therapeutic target — in a signaling axis that drives lung cancer.
Preserving gut mucus architecture
Oct. 20, 2020—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.
Possible COVID-19 “decoy”
Oct. 15, 2020—It might be possible to use vesicles carrying the receptor for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to bind the virus and prevent infection.
Factor involved in stomach injury response identified
Oct. 15, 2020—Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have identified a key factor that coordinates the body’s repair response to severe injury in the stomach caused, most commonly, by infection by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori.
Researchers create molecular ‘atlas’ of GI tract neurons
Oct. 8, 2020—Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have generated the first comprehensive molecular “atlas” of genes expressed by the neuronal cells within the intestine that coordinate the functions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
Gould named senior associate dean for Biomedical Research, Education and Career Development
Sep. 4, 2020—Kathleen Gould, PhD, Louise B. McGavock Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology in the School of Medicine Basic Sciences, has been named senior associate dean for Biomedical Research, Education and Career Development.
A “torque” for tumor blood vessels
Aug. 20, 2020—Vanderbilt scientists have discovered a new target for normalizing tumor blood vessels to improve cancer immunotherapies.
The importance of estrogen cycles
Aug. 6, 2020—Deborah Lannigan and colleagues identify a key regulator of the estrogen receptor and suggest that its downregulation by oral contraceptives may increase oxidative stress and DNA damage, a common cause of cancer.
Keeping beta cells “fit”
Jul. 9, 2020—Vanderbilt cell biologists are defining the factors that help beta cells in the pancreas stay healthy, secrete insulin and prevent diabetes initiation and progression.
