Pathology Microbiology And Immunology

Vanderbilt researchers help answer the question of why patients with autoimmune diseases like lupus are more susceptible to bacterial infections: their neutrophils have impaired antibacterial activity. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that early inappropriate activation of the enzyme plasmin caused by severe injury is a trigger of systemic inflammatory response syndrome and resulting organ failure. Read More

H. pylori infection — a strong risk factor for stomach cancer — changes the composition of stomach lipids, which could offer new biomarkers for detecting premalignant changes, Vanderbilt researchers discovered. Read More

The invading pathogen Salmonella, a common cause of food poisoning, can change its metabolism to overcome host resistance to its colonization. Read More

Vanderbilt Vaccine Center researchers have isolated monoclonal antibodies against hantaviruses, an emerging source of human disease with pandemic potential. Read More

Tumors consume glucose at high rates, but a team of Vanderbilt researchers has discovered that cancer cells themselves are not the culprit, upending models of cancer metabolism that have been developed and refined over the last 100 years. Read More

The discovery of monoclonal antibodies that neutralize Rift Valley Fever Virus — an emerging infection with pandemic potential — lays the foundation for future therapeutic antibody development. Read More

Distinct cancer-associated fibroblasts in the prostate tumor microenvironment may influence tumor progression and could point to new therapeutic targets. Read More

The emergence of pathogenic skin fungi that cause the disease chytridiomycosis is contributing to the global loss of amphibian populations.  Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have linked bone-related complications of severely injured patients — findings that could help minimize these complications. Read More

Valeria Reyes Ruiz, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, has been selected as a 2020 Hanna Gray Fellow by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Read More

HIV-1, the virus that causes AIDS, exploits inositol phosphates in T cells to aid its own assembly and maturation — suggesting that targeting inositol phosphate binding could inhibit HIV-1 replication. Read More

The isolation of human monoclonal antibodies against dangerous viruses including EEEV, Hendra and Nipah could offer new ways to treat and prevent these infections. Read More

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. Read More

Peptides derived from the antimicrobial peptides secreted by frogs could function as microbicides to limit HIV transmission, while sparing protective vaginal bacteria. Read More

Conformational change in a reovirus surface protein modulate the virus’s attachment to host cells, Vanderbilt researchers have found. Read More

Understanding immunity generated by smallpox vaccine may hold lessons for COVID-19 vaccine development. Read More

Understanding how bacteria evolve resistance to antibiotics and host stresses could guide the development of more effective antimicrobial therapeutics. Read More

Deborah Lannigan and colleagues identify a key regulator of the estrogen receptor and suggest that its downregulation by oral contraceptives may increase oxidative stress and DNA damage, a common cause of cancer. Read More

The H. pylori machinery that “injects” an oncoprotein into stomach cells contributes to the development of gastric cancer, Vanderbilt researchers demonstrate. Read More