Research, News & Discoveries

Cancer cells can develop resistance to the treatments designed to eliminate them. Several studies have linked stress granules (SGs), cell organelles that form transiently in response to extracellular stress, to this phenomenon. However, how SGs protect cancer cells remains unclear. Susan Wente, PhD, and Laura Glass, PhD, report… Read More

Glaucoma is characterized by degeneration of retinal ganglion cells, leading to irreversible vision loss. Currently, the only treatable glaucoma risk factor is increased intraocular pressure. While lowering this pressure can slow vision loss, it does not completely halt progression of the disease. Therefore, determining more direct mechanisms to prevent retinal… Read More

Blocking CETP — a protein that shuttles cholesterol and triglycerides between lipoproteins such as HDL and LDL — has been shown to improve levels of the “good” cholesterol HDL. Outcomes from clinical trials of CETP inhibitors, however, have not demonstrated robust decreases in the risk of cardiovascular disease. Because many participants… Read More

The cellular nutrient glutamine launches a metabolic signaling pathway that promotes the function of some immune system T cells and suppresses others, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered. They show that a drug that inhibits glutamine metabolism — currently in clinical trials as an anticancer agent — might also be useful as a… Read More

Our growing ability to acquire data at the level of single cells in complex samples provides exciting new opportunities to understand physiological and pathophysiological processes; however, it also presents daunting challenges for the statistical evaluation of the resultant huge datasets. To date, most experimental approaches have focused on identifying the… Read More

Katherine Rothamel, a PhD student in the Department of Biochemistry at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, has been selected as the 2017 Vanderbilt Prize Student Scholar. Katherine Rothamel She will be mentored by Lynne Maquat, PhD, an internationally known scientist at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and… Read More

Vanderbilt chemists have been awarded $7.2 million over the next five years from the National Cancer Institute to lead an initiative to better understand how a combination chemotherapy for breast cancer targets DNA. Michael Stone, PhD, Carmelo Rizzo, PhD, and Martin Egli, PhD, will research the chemical biology… Read More

Small heat-shock proteins (sHSPs) are molecular chaperones that bind to unfolded proteins to prevent protein aggregation and defend against cellular stress. Mutations in human sHSPs are associated with inherited diseases including cataract and cardiomyopathy. Individual sHSPs bind to each other to form oligomers. Hassane Mchaourab,… Read More

Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a kidney disease characterized by loss of kidney function in patients with diabetes. Raymond Harris, MD, and colleagues previously showed that the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is activated in mouse models of type 1 diabetes, and that… Read More

Loss of a protein that regulates mitochondrial function can greatly increase the risk of myocardial infarction (heart attack), Vanderbilt scientists reported Oct. 3 in the journal eLife. The study illustrates how “integrative genomics,” a combination of basic research, a human biobank linked to electronic health records… Read More