NIGMS Archives
New tools to study bioactive lipids
Jul. 14, 2020—Vanderbilt researchers have identified and characterized inhibitors of an enzyme that synthesizes lipid signaling molecules with roles in energy balance, inflammation and addiction.
Recurrent UTIs linked to hidden reservoir
Jul. 9, 2020—Bacterial invasion of vaginal cells sets up a protective niche and a reservoir for recurrent urinary tract infections, Vanderbilt researchers demonstrated.
Probing DNA damage repair
Jun. 18, 2020—After discovering a new mechanism for DNA damage repair last year, Vanderbilt biochemists now provide direct evidence for how it works.
Robotic technology speeds arrhythmia gene classification
Jun. 12, 2020—Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have used high-throughput robotic technology to rapidly study and classify variations in a gene linked to heart rhythm disorders and cardiac conditions.
C. diff captures blood cell cofactor to build defensive shield
Jun. 10, 2020—Vanderbilt University Medical Center scientists have identified a C. diff protein system that senses and captures heme (part of hemoglobin) to build a protective shield that fends off threats from our immune system and antibiotics.
Protecting the injured kidney
Jun. 4, 2020—Leslie Gewin and colleagues have upended conventional dogma about Wnt/beta-catenin signaling in the kidney, finding that it protects against chronic kidney disease rather than promoting it.
Study explores how staph bacteria can survive in bone
Jun. 3, 2020—A comprehensive evaluation of the metabolic pathways that support Staphylococcus aureus (“staph”) growth during invasive bone infections could offer new targets for treatment.
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.
The adaptable anthrax bacterium
May. 14, 2020—Vanderbilt researchers discover how anthrax bacterium defends itself against structural damage and resists the toxicity of the antimicrobial drug targocil.
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.
Damage, disruption, delirium
Apr. 20, 2020—New findings suggest that treatments that decrease oxidative damage might help with postoperative delirium that occurs in up to 30% of cardiac surgery patients.
‘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.
