Department of Veterans Affairs Archives
Beta cell regeneration
May. 20, 2021—Vanderbilt researchers dissected the complex microenvironment of the pancreatic islet to discover the signals that drive beta cell regeneration — as a possible treatment for diabetes.
Genetic ancestry and hypertension risk
Apr. 29, 2021—Racial disparities in hypertension risk are due in part to genetic differences between ancestries, Vanderbilt investigators find in a study of participants in the Million Veteran Program.
New insights into kidney development
Apr. 15, 2021—Integrin-linked kinase, a central component of a complex that coordinates cell signaling involved in migration, proliferation and cell death, plays a role in kidney development and epithelial cell function.
Study revises understanding of cancer metabolism
Apr. 7, 2021—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.
Codeine metabolizer status in clinical practice
Apr. 5, 2021—Vanderbilt researchers have developed a response score using genetic and clinical information to aid prescribing of the widely used pain medication codeine.
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.
Electronic health record study discovers novel hormone deficiency
Mar. 11, 2021—A novel hormone deficiency may exist in humans, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered. In an analysis of two decades worth of electronic health records, the researchers found that some patients have unexpectedly low levels of natriuretic peptide hormone in clinical situations that should cause high levels of the hormone.
Targeting glucagon action in diabetes
Mar. 4, 2021—Disrupting the action of glucagon — a pancreatic hormone that works to raise blood glucose — restores functional insulin-producing cells in mouse models of type 1 diabetes and may be a promising treatment strategy.
Potential biomarker for IBD severity, cancer risk identified
Feb. 4, 2021—A selenium transport protein produced in the colon may be a novel biomarker for assessing disease severity and cancer risk in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
Microbial RNA and rheumatoid arthritis
Jan. 11, 2021—Small RNAs — short stretches of genetic material — from microbes may be playing a role in rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune diseases.
Study reveals new strategy for reducing tumor growth, metastasis
Dec. 17, 2020—A team of Vanderbilt investigators has discovered that blocking a certain signaling pathway boosts antitumor immunity and reduces tumor growth and metastasis in models of breast cancer and melanoma.
Polymer protection for heart muscle
Dec. 14, 2020—Vanderbilt researchers demonstrate that the polymer P188 has promise as a therapy to prevent reperfusion injury — the cellular damage that occurs when blood flow returns after an ischemic event like a heart attack.
