Department Of Cell And Developmental Biology

A drug that targets multiple pathogenic steps in diabetic retinopathy may be an ideal therapeutic strategy for the disease, Vanderbilt researchers report. Read More

An international research team has discovered a new genetic syndrome caused by mutation of a single gene and named it CATIFA, an acronym for its core symptoms. Read More

The identification of a protein important for insulin synthesis may hold clues for understanding the pathogenesis of diabetes. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have uncovered another piece in the puzzle of how cells divide — a process that goes awry in cancer cells. Read More

Worm neurons have microscopic “spines” — where nerve-to-nerve communication happens — that share features with mammalian neurons, supporting the use of worms to study spine genetics and biology. Read More

Live cell imaging studies have revealed that microvilli — finger-like protrusions on the surface of epithelial cells — move and collide as they form the brush border. Read More

Understanding the dynamic regulation of cytoskeletal microtubules may suggest new ways to treat disorders ranging from Alzheimer's disease to cancer. Read More

Jason MacGurn and colleagues have characterized a “rheostat” that sets WNT pathway signaling in breast cancer cells. Read More

Investigators are exploring the molecular mechanisms behind the association of chronic inflammation and colon cancer. Read More

Inflammation synergizes with a cell’s intrinsic genetic program to promote the development of pancreatic cancer. Read More

Microtubules, part of the cell's cytoskeleton, regulate the secretion of insulin, suggesting that they may be a new target for treating diabetes. Read More

Scott Baldwin and colleagues have discovered early signaling events during heart development, findings that could guide cell replacement therapies for heart disease. Read More

Basement membranes are important structural and functional components of tissues. New research provides insight into how they repair themselves. Read More

New findings may speed progress toward programming cells to rebuild damaged hearts more quickly. Read More

Craig Brooks and colleagues have identified a mechanism of kidney fibrosis progression, suggesting a potential new angle for treating chronic kidney disease. Read More

Ken Lau and Guoqiang Gu have identified a critical biomarker in determining how a pancreatic progenitor cell will develop. Read More

New research led by Rebecca Cook demonstrates that an antiviral receptor called RIG-I has potent immunogenic and therapeutic effects in breast cancer. Read More

Mukhtar Ahmed and colleagues say the methods they employed to understand the mechanisms by which exocysts--protein complexes essential to life--function have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of cell dynamics. Read More

Qi Liu, PhD, Ken Lau, PhD, and colleagues have developed a new tool, sc-UniFrac, to quantify diverse cell types in single-cell studies. Read More

Loss of a protein that regulates mitochondrial function can greatly increase the risk of a heart attack, report Eric Gamazon, Sandra Zinkel and graduate students Christie Salisbury-Ruf and Clinton Bertram in new research. Read More