NHLBI Archives

Staph’s activation of blood clotting

Jun. 9, 2020—Staph bacteria may change the factor they use to activate blood clotting — to evade the immune response — a new study suggests.

Probing innate immunity

May. 19, 2020—Manuel Ascano team validates an inhibitor of the cGAS-STING signaling pathway, which is important for cellular innate immunity against bacteria, viruses, and our own damaged DNA.

A dual-purpose metabolic switch

May. 5, 2020—John York and colleagues have demonstrated that the protein Vip1 is a rare type of bifunctional enzyme: it can both synthesize and destroy key cellular signaling molecules.

EHRs, biobanks and Mendelian diseases

Apr. 30, 2020—Electronic health records and biobanks can be effectively combined to detect and study Mendelian diseases such as cystic fibrosis.

‘Tuning’ cell shape for division

Apr. 16, 2020—Dylan Burnette and colleagues have discovered that two forms of the molecular motor protein myosin have distinct roles in regulating cell shape during cell division.

Study launched to test hydroxychloroquine as treatment for COVID-19

Apr. 8, 2020— by Craig Boerner Faced with a global pandemic of a virus previously unknown to humans, Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is leading a clinical trial to understand if hydroxychloroquine, a well-known drug used for malaria and rheumatologic conditions, is safe and effective in treating hospitalized adults with COVID-19. The ORCHID trial (Outcomes Related to...

Race, hormones and diabetes risk

Mar. 19, 2020—Variation in the levels of hormones called natriuretic peptides may contribute to racial differences in susceptibility to diabetes, suggesting that this hormone system may be a target for reducing risk of the disease.

Clues to lung injury in preterm babies

Mar. 5, 2020—Jennifer Sucre and colleagues have discovered a factor that contributes to the pathological changes of bronchopulmonary dysplasia, the most common complication of preterm birth.

A new contributor to atherosclerosis

Jan. 27, 2020—Sean Davies and colleagues are exploring lipid aldehydes produced during oxidative stress and their contribution to HDL dysfunction and atherosclerosis.

Protein dynamics in the beating heart

Dec. 16, 2019—To study the dynamics of structural proteins in the heart, Vanderbilt investigators generated a cellular tool they expect will be useful for screening drugs that affect heart muscle contraction.

Less inflammation = better healing

Oct. 17, 2019—Immune cells that produce an anti-inflammatory factor are enriched in fat tissue around the heart and may be good targets to improve heart attack outcomes.