The focus of Dr. Roberto Vanacore’s research at Vanderbilt University Medical Center is the study of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins, particularly collagen IV and its modifying enzymes, which are involved in life-threatening human diseases such as diabetic nephropathy, vascular disease, Goodpasture disease, and Alport syndrome. Collagen IV forms crosslinked supramolecular scaffolds that are essential for the mechanical stability of basement membranes and act as ligands for integrins influencing cell behaviors such as proliferation, differentiation, and migration.
Dr. Vanacore has made important discoveries about the chemistry and pathology of basement membranes, including the discovery and assembly of the novel evolutionary conserved sulfilimine bond (S=N) that crosslinks the carboxyl-terminal NC1 domain of collagen IV, the first of its kind in a biomolecule. More recently, Dr. Vanacore is investigating the role of collagen crosslinking enzyme lysyl oxidase like-2 (LOXL2) in renal fibrosis. These investigations pursue a better understanding of role of these ECM proteins in normal tissue function and development of chronic kidney disease.
His lab uses transgenic mouse models of kidney disease in combination with state-of-the-art mass spectrometry-based proteomics and a variety of biochemical, molecular and cell biology techniques.