Nature Communications (journal) Archive

Three-dimensional imaging of kidney tubules (yellow and green noodle-like structures) under low potassium conditions, which puts the kidney into a state of metabolic overdrive and causes cardiovascular problems.
August 5, 2024

Low potassium ‘turns on’ kidney proximal tubule: study

A kidney protein that responds to low levels of blood potassium — which can cause high blood pressure and cardiovascular problems — may be a target for new therapeutics.

By Leigh MacMillan
Photo caption: Jonathan Mosley, MD, PhD, left, Scott Borinstein, MD, PhD, John Shelley, and Vivian Kawai, MD, MPH, are studying how genetic variation not related to disease affects clinical decisions. (photo by Susan Urmy)
June 3, 2024

Genetic variation associated with low white blood cell count impacts clinical decisions

People whose white blood cell levels are near the edge of the “healthy” reference range will hit a clinical decision point that has consequences such as diagnostic procedures and altered treatments.

By Leigh MacMillan
November 21, 2023

VUMC scientists discover key step to kidney fibrosis

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for the first time have shown that activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is essential for the development of kidney fibrosis, tissue scarring following injury that can lead to kidney failure.

By Bill Snyder
From left, Xiang Ye, PhD, Suba Rajendren, PhD, Antiana Richardson, and John Karijolich, PhD, are studying how the cancer-causing virus KSHV commandeers host gene expression and regulatory machinery.
April 20, 2023

Study details RNA editing in virus-infected cancer cells

Vanderbilt researchers detail the landscape of RNA editing — a form of RNA modification — in primary effusion lymphoma cells during Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus infection and identify an edited viral microRNA that is critical for infection.

By Leigh MacMillan
January 5, 2023

New approach outperforms existing cancer susceptibility models

A new approach for conducting gene-based analyses for cancer susceptibility created at Vanderbilt outperforms existing models.

By Tom Wilemon
October 27, 2022

Study reveals pathways for aggressive prostate cancer subtype

Research from Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center has revealed new information about the molecular pathways of cribriform prostate cancer.

By Tom Wilemon
September 15, 2022

Study suggests new mechanism for lipid transporter

A new model suggests that a protein involved in the generation of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) works differently than previously thought.
By Leigh MacMillan
August 25, 2022

Inflammatory driver of obesity

Blocking the EGF receptor signaling pathway in immune system macrophages represents a new target for improving insulin resistance in people with obesity.
By Sarah E. Glass
July 20, 2022

Vanderbilt team tracks cellular and antibody responses to COVID-19 vaccine

In a technical tour de force, a collaborative team of Vanderbilt researchers has characterized the antigen-specific immune response to the Pfizer SARS-CoV-2 RNA vaccine.
By Leigh MacMillan
April 7, 2022

Study advances understanding of bacterial bioterrorism agent

Vanderbilt researchers have identified a critical regulatory factor in the bacterium that causes the disease anthrax and has been used as a biological weapon.
By Leigh MacMillan
January 20, 2022

New method enhances efforts to identify drug repurposing targets

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have developed a new method for identifying drugs for the repurposing trials that can lead to new indications for drugs already in use.
By Paul Govern
November 18, 2021

‘Multi-omics’ reveals treatment option for breast cancer subtype

By Bill Snyder
September 30, 2021

Study shows how a protein coding gene confers breast cancer susceptibility during DNA transcription

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center research is providing new insights into how genetic variants convey breast cancer susceptibility by altering the transcription factor proteins that convert DNA strands into RNA.
By Tom Wilemon