Department of Pathology Microbiology and Immunology Archive — Page 12 of 31

May 12, 2021

Heparin, platelets discouraged as treatment for blood clots after COVID vaccine

Heparin and platelets are discouraged as treatment for patients who develop blood clots in the brain and low platelet counts 6-15 days after receiving Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine, following a clinical investigation review of 12 U.S. cases conducted by the CDC and institutions including Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

By Craig Boerner
The team studying the regulation of innate immune response includes (front row, from left) Yang Zhao, Antiana Richardson, (back row, from left) John Karijolich, PhD, Xiang Ye and William Dunker.
May 6, 2021

Study finds that regulatory protein prevents signaling that triggers cell death

A protein implicated in neurodegenerative diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis prevents the activation of an innate immune response that leads to cell death, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.

By Leigh MacMillan
From left, Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD, Bradley Reinfeld, Matthew Madden and Jeffrey Rathmell, PhD, have discovered that immune cells — not cancer cells — are the major glucose consumers in the tumor microenvironment, upending a century-old observation.
April 7, 2021

Study revises understanding of cancer metabolism

Tumors consume glucose at high rates, but a team of Vanderbilt researchers has discovered that cancer cells themselves are not the culprit, upending models of cancer metabolism that have been developed and refined over the last 100 years.

By Leigh MacMillan
April 1, 2021

Novel way to neutralize Rift Valley Fever Virus

The discovery of monoclonal antibodies that neutralize Rift Valley Fever Virus — an emerging infection with pandemic potential — lays the foundation for future therapeutic antibody development.

By Bill Snyder
Allison Norlander, PhD, R. Stokes Peebles, MD, and colleagues are studying an approved drug that enhances immune cells and might be useful for treating inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.
March 25, 2021

Team studies new use for pulmonary hypertension drug

An FDA-approved medication enhances the function of T regulatory cells (Treg), a class of immune cells that restrains the immune response, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered.

By Leigh MacMillan
March 23, 2021

Prostate cancer microenvironment

Distinct cancer-associated fibroblasts in the prostate tumor microenvironment may influence tumor progression and could point to new therapeutic targets.

By Leigh MacMillan