Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences

Cells lining crucial structures in the kidney are full of mitochondria—parts of the cell that help it do its job. The cost of doing that job, though, can be damage to the mitochondria, which then cripples the cells and leads to poor kidney function. Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center have found that the protein Rac1 kicks cell repair into high gear to help the body remove and replace damaged mitochondria. Their work was recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; Assistant Professor Fabian Bock is among the paper’s authors. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers report that when people who are having their brains scanned by fMRI perform a task, like wiggling their fingers, certain signals increase in white matter throughout the brain, which has long been thought to play a lesser role the more the brain's more energetic gray matter. Read More

A new study by Vanderbilt researchers provides a remarkably detailed view of the earliest events leading to the development of cancer, and of potential new ways to prevent it. Read More

A Vanderbilt study suggests that clinicians should take a deeper dive into distinguishing EGFR mutations when prescribing targeted therapies for non-small-cell lung cancers. Read More

Vanderbilt neonatology team pinpoints signaling pathways involved in the progressive lung fibrosis that occurs in rare genetic diseases. 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

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. 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

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

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. Read More

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. Read More

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

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. Read More

MYC is a family of three related proteins that are overexpressed in cancer and which contribute to an estimated 100,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States. Understanding how MYC works could lead to the development of new drugs that can effectively block MYC and stop many cancers in their tracks. Read More

An unprecedented view of bacterial products within infected tissues opens new opportunities to explore infection biology and devise novel therapeutic strategies. Read More

Immune cells that produce an anti-inflammatory factor are enriched in fat tissue around the heart and may be good targets to improve heart attack outcomes. Read More

New research findings provide insight into the detrimental events that develop in response to H. pylori infection. Read More

Structural features of newly formed HDL particles will help guide understanding of “good cholesterol” and its function. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered an unanticipated link between sulfur and iron balance, pointing to a genetic basis for iron-deficiency anemia. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered that functional MRI detects neural activity in both gray and white matter in the brain, suggesting new ways to investigate diseases such as Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis. Read More