Raymond Harris

Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center for the first time have shown that activation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is essential for the development of kidney fibrosis, tissue scarring following injury that can lead to kidney failure. Their discovery, reported Nov. 14 in the journal Nature Communications,… Read More

It’s time to revise the textbook entry for vasopressin production. For 100 years, it has been thought that vasopressin — a hormone that regulates water and blood pressure homeostasis — is only produced in the brain. Now, Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigators have discovered that vasopressin is also produced in… Read More

Obesity is an inflammatory condition that can damage tissues throughout the body, resulting in increased risk for cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes and possibly kidney disease. The agents of inflammation are immune cells called macrophages, which accumulate in fatty tissue, and which produce inflammatory chemicals called cytokines. But… Read More