NIGMS Archives
VUMC investigators find pathogens work together to infect host
Nov. 3, 2016—Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus — two pathogens that frequently co-infect the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis — appear to cooperate with each other, Vanderbilt investigators have discovered. When pseudomonas is starved for metal by the host, it shuts down the production of factors that would normally kill staph, promoting a co-infection.
DNA damage response protein
Oct. 21, 2016—Vanderbilt researchers have determined that a previously uncharacterized protein responds to DNA replication stress and has an essential role in maintaining the integrity of the genome.
Study shows excess dietary zinc worsens C. diff infection
Sep. 26, 2016—Too much dietary zinc increases susceptibility to infection by Clostridium difficile — “C. diff” — the most common cause of hospital-acquired infections.
In search of new cancer targets
Sep. 9, 2016—Vanderbilt researchers developed a new algorithm to find clinically targetable gene rearrangements in cancers.
Going after the ‘heart attack gremlin’
Sep. 8, 2016—A protein called Gremlin 2 controls the extent of inflammation after heart attack and may be a good therapeutic target.
New culprit in nerve degeneration
Aug. 12, 2016—Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that regulation of cell volume plays a role in nerve degeneration and peripheral neuropathies.
Membrane fats impact drug transporter
Jul. 14, 2016—New studies of a membrane transporter could explain antibiotic resistance – and lead to novel ways to combat it.
COX-2 blocker could help PTSD
May. 12, 2016—COX-2 inhibitors – used clinically to reduce inflammation and pain – may find new applications for treating PTSD and other stress-related psychiatric disorders like major depression.
Immune defenses in asthma
Apr. 5, 2016—Vanderbilt researchers show that a certain factor negatively impacts the first-line responder cells in the lungs, providing one explanation for why patients with asthma are at greater risk for invasive bacterial disease.
A clue to cell cleavage
Mar. 7, 2016—Actin and microtubule cytoskeletons are coordinated during cytokinesis – the process that separates one cell into two and is linked to events underlying cancer.
Dynamics of a drug resistance transporter
Feb. 5, 2016—Vanderbilt investigators are exploring the shape changes in a multidrug transporter to understand the mechanisms of antibacterial resistance.
Findings offer new insight on how cell division proteins work
Jan. 28, 2016—A family of proteins with critical roles in cell division, synaptic transmission and cell migration don’t all function the way scientists thought they did, according to two new studies led by Vanderbilt researchers.