Vitamin D: role in autoimmunity.
2012
Bock, G. | Pieber, T. R. | Prietl, B.
Vitamin D has long been known for its important effects on bone health and calcium/phosphate homoeostasis, but vitamin D deficiency is now being linked to a broadening field of health problems, including autoimmune diseases. Over the last 5 years, our perspective on how vitamin D interacts with the immune system has dramatically changed. Prominent new data have shown that the expression and activity of vitamin D metabolizing enzymes are central to normal immune responses, providing a mechanism for the localized metabolism from inactive vitamin D - 25(OH)D - to active vitamin D - 1,25(OH)<sub>2</sub>D - at the site of inflammation. Vitamin D influences the function of cells intrinsic to innate and adaptive immunity, and has an important role in the regulation of inflammatory response as well as maintaining immune homoeostasis. Inadequate vitamin levels, which probably are different from those necessary to maintain bone homoeostasis, are linked to higher susceptibility of autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes (T1D), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or multiple sclerosis (MS). Vitamin D supplementation trials will further elucidate the <i>in vivo</i> effects of vitamin D on the immune system and its ability to influence autoimmune diseases.
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