NIGMS Archives
Neural networks probe proteins
May. 9, 2023—A machine learning method based on neural networks outperformed a mutational scanning model at identifying disease-causing mutations in an Alzheimer’s disease protein, suggesting the method could be useful for facilitating therapeutic design.
Novel drugs have potential for treating tuberculosis
Apr. 24, 2023—Drug-resistant tuberculosis is on the rise, and novel antibacterial drugs called SPTs have potential for treating the deadly lung infection.
Genetics and chronic pain
Apr. 20, 2023—Polygenic risk scores — scores that reflect the influence of common genetic variants — could be used to predict the likelihood of developing chronic overlapping pain conditions and guide biomarker and targeted prevention efforts.
Decoding cell division machinery
Mar. 23, 2023—Phosphate modification regulates the cell localization of Cdc15, one of the main controllers of cell division, to fine tune the assembly of cell division machinery.
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.
Anti-nausea drug response in children
Jan. 10, 2023—Genetic variation in a metabolic enzyme was not associated with response to the anti-nausea drug odansetron in children, Vanderbilt researchers report.
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.
Vascular dysfunction during sepsis
Oct. 25, 2022—Regulation of the enzyme Sirtuin 1 in blood vessel endothelial cells may drive altered metabolism and vascular dysfunction during sepsis, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered.
Nerve cells and cancer progression
Sep. 22, 2022—Immature nerves and neural precursor cells increase in density as a type of premalignant tumor in the pancreas progresses to invasive disease, suggesting that blocking these cells may arrest malignant progression.
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.
PheWAS reveals post-COVID-19 diagnoses
Sep. 8, 2022—Using a high-throughput informatics technique and electronic health records, Vanderbilt researchers found that COVID-19 survivors had an increased risk for more than 40 new diagnoses.
Immune cells drive beta cell loss in Type 2 diabetes
Sep. 8, 2022—Vanderbilt researchers have discovered details of pancreatic beta cell loss — and potential therapeutic targets — during conditions of overnutrition, as occurs in obesity.