Vitamin D Study Throws Light on Immune System Effects

Mechanism of how vitamin D affects body's immune system and how it influences the susceptibility to certain autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) has been identified by the team of researchers of the University of Edinburgh.

Vitamin D is produced by the body in response to sunlight and is often lauded for its health benefits. Researchers found it also affects key cells of the immune system.

‘Vitamin D makes dendritic cells to express more CD31 on their surface which hinders the activation of T-cells. This leads to a reduction of unnecessary and excess immune reactions in various autoimmune disorders.’

This discovery might explain how vitamin D regulates immune reactions that have been implicated in MS.

In healthy people, T cells play a crucial role in helping to fight infections. In people with autoimmune diseases, however, they can start to attack the body's own tissues.

By studying cells from mice and people, the researchers found vitamin D caused dendritic cells of immune system to produce more of a molecule called CD31 on their surface and that this hindered the activation of T cells.

The team observed how CD31 prevented the two cell types from making a stable contact - an essential part of the activation process - and the resulting immune reaction was far reduced.

Researchers say the findings shed light on how vitamin D deficiency may regulate the immune system and influence susceptibility to autoimmune diseases.

The study, published in Frontiers in Immunology, was funded by the Medical Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Natural Environment Research Council and Wellcome.

Professor Richard Mellanby, of the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Inflammation Research, said: "Low vitamin D status has long being implicated as a significant risk factor for the development of several autoimmune diseases. Our study reveals one way in which vitamin D metabolites can dramatically influence the immune system."



Source: Eurekalert