Department of Veterans Affairs Archives

Luc Van Kaer, PhD, left, Luke Postoak and colleagues have identified a protein that is key to the “education” of immature T cells in the thymus.

Study identifies key player in T cell “education”

Sep. 1, 2022—New Vanderbilt research could inform therapeutic strategies for enhancing thymic function when desired — such as during aging, recovery from radiation therapy or chemotherapy, or other conditions that reduce T cell output.

A new mechanism for lupus

Aug. 30, 2022—Vanderbilt researchers describe a new mechanism for the most common form of lupus and suggest a new treatment approach to this autoimmune disease.

Research by Christopher Peek, PhD, left, Jim Cassat, MD, PhD, and their colleagues reveals how gut inflammation leads to bone loss.

Vanderbilt researchers discover how gut inflammation leads to bone loss

Aug. 25, 2022—Gastrointestinal inflammation, such as occurs in inflammatory bowel disease, triggers the expansion of a population of “bone-eating” cells, leading to bone loss.

Rheumatoid arthritis and heart disease: a common path

Aug. 25, 2022—An increase in certain antibodies in patients with rheumatoid arthritis can serve as a predictive biomarker for cardiovascular disease, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.

Inflammatory driver of obesity

Aug. 25, 2022—Blocking the EGF receptor signaling pathway in immune system macrophages represents a new target for improving insulin resistance in people with obesity.

The study team included, from left, Mohammad Saleem, PhD, Lale Ertuglu, MD, Annet Kirabo, PhD, and Ashley Pitzer, PhD.

Researchers discover how salt increases blood pressure

Aug. 17, 2022—A Vanderbilt research team has discovered that activation of a certain protein complex involved in the inflammatory response in immune cells contributes to salt-sensitive hypertension.

Diabetes, cardiovascular drug targets

May. 24, 2022—Targeting receptors of the inflammatory lipid signaling molecule PGE2 may offer a new way to tackle both Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.

Computer eyeballs graft-vs-host disease

Apr. 7, 2022—A machine learning algorithm identified areas of skin affected by chronic graft-versus-host disease on par with clinicians, opening the door to streamlining and standardizing this measure of patient response to therapy.

Invasive strep can defy zinc toxicity

Feb. 28, 2022—Vanderbilt researchers find that invasive Group B Streptococcus strains, a significant risk to pregnant patients and infants, can grow in presence of toxic zinc levels.

Melanoma treatment response

Feb. 24, 2022—Targeting the interaction between melanoma and immune cells could improve responses to targeted cancer therapies, Vanderbilt researchers found.

Adriana Hung, MD, MPH, talks with patient Sylvester Norman, who is participating in the VA Department’s Million Veteran Program.

Gene variants increase risk of kidney failure in veterans of African ancestry with COVID-19: study

Feb. 10, 2022—Gene variants increased the risk of acute kidney injury and death in veterans of African ancestry who were hospitalized with COVID-19, possibly explaining some health disparities associated with COVID-19.

Accelerating podocyte production

Feb. 1, 2022—A new method developed by Vanderbilt researchers to generate kidney cells from stem cells offers a faster and less expensive way to make these valuable tools for studying kidney diseases.