Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) (journal) Archive — Page 2 of 7

Person using a handheld blood glucose meter with a test strip on a fingertip; a lancing device and small container sit nearby.
March 4, 2021

Targeting glucagon action in diabetes

Disrupting the action of glucagon — a pancreatic hormone that works to raise blood glucose — restores functional insulin-producing cells in mouse models of type 1 diabetes and may be a promising treatment strategy.

By Leigh MacMillan
C. Henrique Serezani, PhD, right, and colleagues, from left, Amondrea Blackman, Nathan Klopfenstein and Júlia Miranda Ribeiro Bazzano are studying the early events of the inflammatory response to infection.
December 10, 2020

Study details early events of inflammatory response

Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have identified a key molecular player in the early events of the inflammatory response to infection. The findings suggest new therapeutic possibilities for enhancing the inflammatory response to protect against pathogens and for blocking inflammation gone awry in diseases like arthritis and atherosclerosis.

By Leigh MacMillan
Close-up of analog electricity meters with black needles and numbered dials, labeled “KILOWATT.”
September 3, 2020

Assembling cell power plant machinery

Tina Iverson and colleagues provide a structural view into the assembly of a protein machine essential for cellular energy production.

By Leigh MacMillan
Illustration of a neuron with a branching cell body, central nucleus, elongated myelinated axon, and terminal ending against a blurred green background.
August 17, 2020

Cashew shell compound appears to mend damaged nerves

In laboratory experiments, a chemical compound found in the shell of the cashew nut promotes the repair of myelin, a team from Vanderbilt University Medical Center reported Aug. 17 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

By Paul Govern
Smiling man in a gray suit and burgundy tie standing in an office; a framed photograph is visible on a nearby shelf.
July 20, 2020

Study points to potential new approach to treating neurodegenerative diseases like glaucoma and Alzheimer’s disease

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have shown for the first time that when one optic nerve in the eye is damaged, as in glaucoma, the opposite optic nerve comes to the rescue by sharing its metabolic energy.

By Bill Snyder
Illustration of purple, textured spherical particles floating against a deep blue background, with bright rays radiating from several larger particles.
July 13, 2020

“Nur” target may aid arthritis treatment

Vanderbilt immunologists have discovered that the protein Nur77 is part of a control mechanism that guards against autoimmunity in natural killer T cells.

By Bill Snyder