Vitamin D and Autoimmunity
“vitamin D receptors are expressed in different tissues, such as brain, heart, skin, bowel, gonads, prostate, breasts, and immune cells, as well as bones, kidneys, and parathyroid glands.1”
“Current studies have related vitamin D deficiency with several autoimmune disorders, including insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), multiple sclerosis (MS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA)”
“The main source of vitamin D comes from the endogenous production in the skin after exposure to ultraviolet B light.8”
“The ideal level of vitamin D necessary to guarantee the immune system will work properly has not been defined. It is most likely that this level should be different than that necessary to prevent vitamin D deficiency or maintain calcium homeostasis.5”
“As a rule, the effects of vitamin D in the immune system translate into an enhancement of innate immunity associated with a multifaceted regulation of acquired immunity.2”
“It has been suggested that vitamin D and its analogues not only prevent the development of autoimmune diseases, but they could also be used in their treatment.11”
“When well regulated, autoimmunity is a common occurrence in almost everyone to a certain degree and is involved in eliminating unnecessary cells (9).”
“Vitamin D has been shown to play a significant role in the function of the immune system, in both innate and adaptive immunity (17–20).”
“In summary, the demonstrable ability of vitamin D to affect the immune system in these ways may have its impact on alleviating the detrimental effects of autoimmunity.”
“Epidemiological studies have shown an association between vitamin D deficiency and many autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), scleroderma or systemic sclerosis (SSc), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis (MS), and type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) (27).”
“there is mounting evidence that vitamin D has an impact on the pathophysiological mechanisms of autoimmunity, although the mechanisms have yet to be elucidated.”
