NIAID Archives

COVID alters respiratory microbiota

Apr. 25, 2023—COVID-19 infection alters the microbes of the upper respiratory tract for at least several weeks, and such disturbances could impact disease severity and be targets for therapeutic interventions.

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.

Study details RNA editing in virus-infected cancer cells

Apr. 20, 2023—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.

E. coli uses serine to abide acidity

Mar. 23, 2023—Vanderbilt researchers have discovered another acid resistance mechanism for UTI-causing E. coli, laying the foundation for targeted antibacterial therapies.

Study seeks to identify prenatal allergy risk markers

Mar. 16, 2023—A Vanderbilt clinical trial is seeking to identify prenatal and early childhood markers of high risk for food allergy and atopic dermatitis, or eczema, as well as biological pathways that lead to these conditions.

Diabetes drug may improve asthma

Feb. 21, 2023—New biomarker finding strengthens the case for using GLP-1R agonists to treat patients with Type 2 diabetes who also suffer from asthma.

COVID-19 battle begins in the nose

Feb. 2, 2023—A high upper airway concentration of the virus that causes COVID-19 was associated with changes in gene expression that could impact disease progression, Vanderbilt researchers discovered.

Jeffrey Rathmell, PhD, left, and Kelsey Voss, PhD, led a multidisciplinary team that identified iron metabolism in T cells as a potential target for treating lupus.

Study identifies potential new approach for treating lupus

Jan. 13, 2023—A Vanderbilt study found that targeting iron metabolism in immune system cells may offer a new approach for treating systemic lupus erythematosus — the most common form of the chronic autoimmune disease lupus.

Researchers develop framework for multiancestry genomic studies

Dec. 8, 2022—Vanderbilt researchers have developed a framework for the analysis of multiancestry, large-scale genomic studies across multiple biobanks.

The clinical trial group includes, from left, Gordon Bernard, MD, Katherine Cahill, MD, Kevin Niswender, MD, PhD, Pingsheng Wu, PhD, and R. Stokes Peebles, MD.

Clinical trial at VUMC tests novel treatment for asthma

Nov. 10, 2022—VUMC has begun enrolling patients with asthma in a clinical trial of a novel treatment: a medication approved to treat diabetes and obesity.

C. diff infections drop in children

Nov. 3, 2022—The number of pediatric infections caused by Clostridioides difficile (C. diff) decreased from 2013 to 2019, likely due to an increase in antibiotic stewardship programs and improved hospital contact protocols, Vanderbilt researchers found.

Enhancing innate immunity in the lung

Sep. 12, 2022—Vanderbilt researchers show that a TLR4 agonist improves lung immune response and survival in a mouse model of bacterial pneumonia, supporting the development of this drug to protect against pneumonia in hospitalized patients.

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.