scholarly journals The Effects of Vitamin D on Immune System and Inflammatory Diseases

Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1624
Author(s):  
Tomoka Ao ◽  
Junichi Kikuta ◽  
Masaru Ishii

Immune cells, including dendritic cells, macrophages, and T and B cells, express the vitamin D receptor and 1α-hydroxylase. In vitro studies have shown that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, the active form of vitamin D, has an anti-inflammatory effect. Recent epidemiological evidence has indicated a significant association between vitamin D deficiency and an increased incidence, or aggravation, of infectious diseases and inflammatory autoimmune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, and multiple sclerosis. However, the impact of vitamin D on treatment and prevention, particularly in infectious diseases such as the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19), remains controversial. Here, we review recent evidence associated with the relationship between vitamin D and inflammatory diseases and describe the underlying immunomodulatory effect of vitamin D.

2008 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 1912-1921 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroki Fujita ◽  
Kotaro Sugimoto ◽  
Shuichiro Inatomi ◽  
Toshihiro Maeda ◽  
Makoto Osanai ◽  
...  

Ca2+ is absorbed across intestinal epithelial monolayers via transcellular and paracellular pathways, and an active form of vitamin D3, 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1α,25(OH)2D3], is known to promote intestinal Ca2+ absorption. However, the molecules driving the paracellular Ca2+ absorption and its vitamin D dependency remain obscure. Because the tight junction proteins claudins are suggested to form paracellular channels for selective ions between neighboring cells, we hypothesized that specific intestinal claudins might facilitate paracellular Ca2+ transport and that expression of these claudins could be induced by 1α,25(OH)2D3. Herein, we show, by using RNA interference and overexpression strategies, that claudin-2 and claudin-12 contribute to Ca2+ absorption in intestinal epithelial cells. We also provide evidence showing that expression of claudins-2 and -12 is up-regulated in enterocytes in vitro and in vivo by 1α,25(OH)2D3 through the vitamin D receptor. These findings strongly suggest that claudin-2- and/or claudin-12-based tight junctions form paracellular Ca2+ channels in intestinal epithelia, and they highlight a novel mechanism behind vitamin D-dependent calcium homeostasis.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ankana Ganguly ◽  
Jennifer A Tamblyn ◽  
Alexandra Shattock ◽  
Annsha Joseph ◽  
Dean P Larner ◽  
...  

Early pregnancy is characterised by elevated circulating levels of vitamin D binding protein (DBP). The impact of this on maternal and fetal health is unclear but DBP is present in the placenta, and DBP gene variants have been linked to malplacentation disorders such as preeclampsia. A functional role for DBP in the placenta was investigated using trophoblastic JEG3, BeWo and HTR8 cells. All three cells lines showed intracellular DBP, with increased expression and nuclear localisation of DBP in cells treated with the active form of vitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25D). When cultured in serum from mice lacking DBP (DBP-/-), JEG3 cells showed no intracellular DBP indicating uptake of exogenous DBP. Inhibition of the membrane receptor for DBP, megalin, also suppressed intracellular DBP. Elimination of intracellular DBP with DBP-/- serum or megalin inhibitor suppressed matrix invasion by trophoblast cells, and was associated with increased nuclear accumulation of G-actin. Conversely, treatment with 1,25D enhanced matrix invasion. This was independent of the nuclear vitamin D receptor but was associated with enhanced ERK phosphorylation, and inhibition of ERK kinase suppressed trophoblast matrix invasion. When cultured with serum from pregnant women, trophoblast matrix invasion correlated with DBP concentration, and DBP was lower in first trimester serum from women who later developed preeclampsia. These data show that trophoblast matrix invasion involves uptake of serum DBP and associated intracellular actin binding and homeostasis. DBP is a potential marker of placentation disorders such as preeclampsia and may also provide a therapeutic option for improved placenta and pregnancy health.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 340.2-341
Author(s):  
V. Orefice ◽  
F. Ceccarelli ◽  
C. Barbati ◽  
R. Lucchetti ◽  
G. Olivieri ◽  
...  

Background:Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease mainly affecting women of childbearing age. The interplay between genetic and environmental factors may contribute to disease pathogenesis1. At today, no robust data are available about the possible contribute of diet in SLE. Caffeine, one of the most widely consumed products in the world, seems to interact with multiple components of the immune system by acting as a non-specific phosphodiesterase inhibitor2.In vitrodose-dependent treatment with caffeine seems to down-regulate mRNA levels of key inflammation-related genes and similarly reduce levels of different pro-inflammatory cytokines3.Objectives:We evaluated the impact of caffeine consumption on SLE-related disease phenotype and activity, in terms of clinimetric assessment and cytokines levels.Methods:We performed a cross-sectional study, enrolling consecutive patients and reporting their clinical and laboratory data. Disease activity was assessed by SLE Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2k)4. Caffeine intake was evaluated by a 7-day food frequency questionnaire, including all the main sources of caffeine. As previously reported, patients were divided in four groups according to the daily caffeine intake: <29.1 mg/day (group 1), 29.2-153.7 mg/day (group 2), 153.8-376.5 mg/day (group 3) and >376.6 mg/day (group 4)5. At the end of questionnaire filling, blood samples were collected from each patient to assess cytokines levels. These were assessed by using a panel by Bio-Plex assays to measure the levels of IL-6, IL-10, IL-17, IL-27, IFN-γ, IFN-α and Blys.Results:We enrolled 89 SLE patients (F/M 87/2, median age 46 years, IQR 14; median disease duration 144 months, IQR 150). The median intake of caffeine was 195 mg/day (IQR 160.5). At the time of the enrollment, 8 patients (8.9%) referred a caffeine intake < 29.1 mg/day (group 1), 27 patients (30.3%) between 29.2 and 153.7 mg/day (group 2), 45 patients (51%) between 153.8 and 376.5 mg/day (group 3) and 9 patients (10.1%) >376.6 mg/day (group 4). A negative correlation between the levels of caffeine and disease activity, evaluated with SLEDAI-2K, was observed (p=0.01, r=-0.26). By comparing the four groups, a significant higher prevalence of lupus nephritis, neuropsychiatric involvement, haematological manifestations, hypocomplementemia and anti-dsDNA positivity was observed in patients with less intake of caffeine (figure 1 A-E). Furthermore, patients with less intake of caffeine showed a significant more frequent use of glucocorticoids [group 4: 22.2%,versusgroup 1 (50.0%, p=0.0001), group 2 (55.5%, p=0.0001), group 3 (40.0%, p=0.009)]. Moving on cytokines analysis, a negative correlation between daily caffeine consumption and serum level of IFNγ was found (p=0.03, r=-0.2) (figure 2A); furthermore, patients with more caffeine intake showed significant lower levels of IFNα (p=0.02, figure 2B), IL-17 (p=0.01, figure 2C) and IL-6 (p=0.003, figure 2D).Conclusion:This is the first report demonstrating the impact of caffeine on SLE disease activity status, as demonstrated by the inverse correlation between its intake and both SLEDAI-2k values and cytokines levels. Moreover, in our cohort, patients with less caffeine consumption seems to have a more severe disease phenotype, especially in terms of renal and neuropsychiatric involvement. Our results seem to suggest a possible immunoregulatory dose-dependent effect of caffeine, through the modulation of serum cytokine levels, as already suggested byin vitroanalysis.References:[1]Kaul et alNat. Rev. Dis. Prim.2016; 2. Aronsen et alEurop Joul of Pharm2014; 3. Iris et alClin Immun.2018; 4. Gladman et al J Rheumatol. 2002; 5. Mikuls et alArth Rheum2002Disclosure of Interests:Valeria Orefice: None declared, Fulvia Ceccarelli: None declared, cristiana barbati: None declared, Ramona Lucchetti: None declared, Giulio Olivieri: None declared, enrica cipriano: None declared, Francesco Natalucci: None declared, Carlo Perricone: None declared, Francesca Romana Spinelli Grant/research support from: Pfizer, Consultant of: Novartis, Gilead, Lilly, Sanofi, Celgene, Speakers bureau: Lilly, cristiano alessandri Grant/research support from: Pfizer, Guido Valesini: None declared, Fabrizio Conti Speakers bureau: BMS, Lilly, Abbvie, Pfizer, Sanofi


2002 ◽  
pp. 45-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
K W Colston ◽  
C M√∏rk Hansen

It is now well established that, in addition to its central role in the maintenance of extracellular calcium levels and bone mineralization, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) (1,25(OH)(2)D(3)), the active form of vitamin D, also acts as a modulator of cell growth and differentiation in a number of cell types, including breast cancer cells. The anti-proliferative effects of 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) have been linked to suppression of growth stimulatory signals and potentiation of growth inhibitory signals, which lead to changes in cell cycle regulators such as p21(WAF-1/CIP1) and p27(kip1), cyclins and retinoblastoma protein as well as induction of apoptosis. Such studies have led to interest in the potential use of 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) in the treatment or prevention of certain cancers. Since this approach is limited by the tendency of 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) to cause hypercalcaemia, synthetic vitamin D analogues have been developed which display separation of the growth regulating effects from calcium mobilizing actions. This review examines mechanisms by which 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) and its active analogues exert both anti-proliferative and pro-apoptotic effects and describes some of the synthetic analogues that have been shown to be of particular interest in relation to breast cancer.


2016 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 521-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Tebben ◽  
Ravinder J. Singh ◽  
Rajiv Kumar

AbstractHypercalcemia occurs in up to 4% of the population in association with malignancy, primary hyperparathyroidism, ingestion of excessive calcium and/or vitamin D, ectopic production of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [1,25(OH)2D], and impaired degradation of 1,25(OH)2D. The ingestion of excessive amounts of vitamin D3 (or vitamin D2) results in hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria due to the formation of supraphysiological amounts of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] that bind to the vitamin D receptor, albeit with lower affinity than the active form of the vitamin, 1,25(OH)2D, and the formation of 5,6-trans 25(OH)D, which binds to the vitamin D receptor more tightly than 25(OH)D. In patients with granulomatous disease such as sarcoidosis or tuberculosis and tumors such as lymphomas, hypercalcemia occurs as a result of the activity of ectopic 25(OH)D-1-hydroxylase (CYP27B1) expressed in macrophages or tumor cells and the formation of excessive amounts of 1,25(OH)2D. Recent work has identified a novel cause of non-PTH-mediated hypercalcemia that occurs when the degradation of 1,25(OH)2D is impaired as a result of mutations of the 1,25(OH)2D-24-hydroxylase cytochrome P450 (CYP24A1). Patients with biallelic and, in some instances, monoallelic mutations of the CYP24A1 gene have elevated serum calcium concentrations associated with elevated serum 1,25(OH)2D, suppressed PTH concentrations, hypercalciuria, nephrocalcinosis, nephrolithiasis, and on occasion, reduced bone density. Of interest, first-time calcium renal stone formers have elevated 1,25(OH)2D and evidence of impaired 24-hydroxylase-mediated 1,25(OH)2D degradation. We will describe the biochemical processes associated with the synthesis and degradation of various vitamin D metabolites, the clinical features of the vitamin D-mediated hypercalcemia, their biochemical diagnosis, and treatment.


2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Twisha S. Patel ◽  
Peggy L. Carver ◽  
Gregory A. Eschenauer

ABSTRACT The purpose of this review is to critically analyze published data evaluating the impact of azole pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters, MICs, and Candida species on clinical outcomes in patients with candidemia. Clinical breakpoints (CBPs) for fluconazole and voriconazole, which are used to determine susceptibility, have been defined by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) for Candida species. Studies evaluating the relationship between treatment efficacy and in vitro susceptibility, as well as the pharmacodynamic targets, have been conducted in patients treated with fluconazole for candidemia; however, for species other than Candida albicans and Candida glabrata, and for other forms of invasive candidiasis, data remain limited and randomized trials are not available. Limited data evaluating these relationships with voriconazole are available. While pharmacodynamic targets for posaconazole and isavuconazole have been proposed based upon studies conducted in murine models, CBPs have not been established by CLSI. Fluconazole remains an important antifungal agent for the treatment of candidemia, and data supporting its use based on in vitro susceptibility are growing, particularly for C. albicans and C. glabrata. Further investigation is needed to establish the roles of voriconazole, posaconazole, and isavuconazole in the treatment of candidemia and for all agents in the treatment of other forms of invasive candidiasis.


2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Giannangelo ◽  
Lukas Stingelin ◽  
Tuo Yang ◽  
Leann Tilley ◽  
Susan A. Charman ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThe peroxide bond of the artemisinins inspired the development of a class of fully synthetic 1,2,4-trioxolane-based antimalarials, collectively known as the ozonides. Similar to the artemisinins, heme-mediated degradation of the ozonides generates highly reactive radical species that are thought to mediate parasite killing by damaging critical parasite biomolecules. We examined the relationship between parasite dependent degradation and antimalarial activity for two ozonides, OZ277 (arterolane) and OZ439 (artefenomel), using a combination ofin vitrodrug stability and pulsed-exposure activity assays. Our results showed that drug degradation is parasite stage dependent and positively correlates with parasite load. Increasing trophozoite-stage parasitemia leads to substantially higher rates of degradation for both OZ277 and OZ439, and this is associated with a reduction inin vitroantimalarial activity. Under conditions of very high parasitemia (∼90%), OZ277 and OZ439 were rapidly degraded and completely devoid of activity in trophozoite-stage parasite cultures exposed to a 3-h drug pulse. This study highlights the impact of increasing parasite load on ozonide stability andin vitroantimalarial activity and should be considered when investigating the antimalarial mode of action of the ozonide antimalarials under conditions of high parasitemia.


2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (4) ◽  
pp. R45-R56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Hanel ◽  
Henna-Riikka Malmberg ◽  
Carsten Carlberg

Molecular endocrinology of vitamin D is based on the activation of the transcription factor vitamin D receptor (VDR) by the vitamin D metabolite 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3. This nuclear vitamin D-sensing process causes epigenome-wide effects, such as changes in chromatin accessibility as well as in the contact of VDR and its supporting pioneer factors with thousands of genomic binding sites, referred to as vitamin D response elements. VDR binding enhancer regions loop to transcription start sites of hundreds of vitamin D target genes resulting in changes of their expression. Thus, vitamin D signaling is based on epigenome- and transcriptome-wide shifts in VDR-expressing tissues. Monocytes are the most responsive cell type of the immune system and serve as a paradigm for uncovering the chromatin model of vitamin D signaling. In this review, an alternative approach for selecting vitamin D target genes is presented, which are most relevant for understanding the impact of vitamin D endocrinology on innate immunity. Different scenarios of the regulation of primary upregulated vitamin D target genes are presented, in which vitamin D-driven super-enhancers comprise a cluster of persistent (constant) and/or inducible (transient) VDR-binding sites. In conclusion, the spatio-temporal VDR binding in the context of chromatin is most critical for the regulation of vitamin D target genes.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Robrahn ◽  
Aline Dupont ◽  
Sandra Jumpertz ◽  
Kaiyi Zhang ◽  
Christian H. Holland ◽  
...  

The hypoxia-inducible transcription factor 1 (HIF-1) has been shown to enhance microbial killing and to ameliorate the course of bacterial infections. While the impact of HIF-1 on inflammatory diseases of the gut has been studied intensively, its function in bacterial infections of the gastrointestinal tract remains largely elusive. With the help of a publicly available gene expression data set, we could infer significant activation of HIF-1 after oral infection of mice with Salmonella Typhimurium. Immunohistochemistry and western blot analysis confirmed marked HIF-1α protein stabilization, especially in the intestinal epithelium. This prompted us to analyze conditional Hif1a -deficient mice to examine cell type-specific functions of HIF-1 in this model. Our results demonstrate enhanced non-canonical induction of HIF-1 activity upon Salmonella infection in the intestinal epithelium as well as in macrophages. Surprisingly, Hif1a deletion in intestinal epithelial cells did not impact on inflammatory gene expression, bacterial spread or disease outcome. In contrast, Hif1a deletion in myeloid cells enhanced intestinal Cxcl2 expression and reduced the cecal Salmonella load. In vitro , HIF-1α-deficient macrophages showed an overall impaired transcription of mRNA encoding pro-inflammatory factors, however, intracellular survival of Salmonella was not impacted by HIF-1α deficiency.


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