School Of Medicine Basic Sciences

Poorly functioning AMPARs have been linked to a wide range of neurological and psychiatric disorders including seizures, Alzheimer’s disease, major depression and autism spectrum disorder. Understanding how AMPARs are formed and operate is essential for the rational design of pharmacological compounds that, by tuning AMPAR activity up or down, could improve treatment of these conditions. 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

Structural details of a protein that is essential to normal brain function could improve treatments for epilepsy and other seizure disorders. 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

James Dewar and colleagues have identified a role for the enzyme topoisomerase II in reducing replication errors during the final stage of DNA synthesis. 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

Vanderbilt investigators have linked genetic mutations in a single receptor to epilepsy, autism and intellectual disability. Read More

Vanderbilt scientists have identified 593 proteins that are enriched at sites of DNA duplication and chromatin packaging of newly synthesized DNA. 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

Vanderbilt researchers have discovered that a protein called SGK1 in immune cells is activated by sodium, leading to the development of salt-sensitive hypertension. 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

Vanderbilt’s Bruce Carter and colleagues have discovered how genetic changes in the protein PMP22 may contribute to a disease of peripheral nerves. Read More

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

Engineered bacteria that produce beneficial compounds — and that could potentially be administered in foods like yogurt — may be a future treatment for obesity and other chronic diseases. Read More

A previously unrecognized role for a cell surface receptor may open new therapeutic options for the treatment of fibrotic diseases. 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

A first-of-its-kind mouse model may help reveal mechanistic underpinnings for the altered behaviors of autism spectrum disorder. Read More

Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center scientists have discovered a role for a tumor suppressor protein in skin wound healing. Read More