Although vitamin D was discovered more than 100 years ago, our understanding of how vitamin D impacts human health continues to evolve. Vitamin D was originally identified as a factor that prevented the bone disease rickets but in recent years there has been growing interest in the possible benefits of vitamin D for human health beyond the skeleton. In particular, vitamin D has been shown to be a potent regulator of both innate and adaptive immune function, suggesting that vitamin D-deficiency may predispose to some infectious and autoimmune diseases.
This presentation will outline the historical basis for a link between vitamin D and the immune system – notably strong connections with the respiratory disease tuberculosis. The key focus will be on the mechanistic basis for vitamin D as an immunoregulator, including pathogen activation of intracrine vitamin D metabolism, and the selective targeting of antibacterial and antiviral immunity by active 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. The effects of vitamin D on adaptive T cell function and inflammation will also be described.
What will I gain from this webinar?
- You will be able to describe the fundamental mechanisms that link vitamin D with immune function
- You will be able understand the rationale for studies showing association between low vitamin D status and immune disorders.
- You will be able to critically evaluate the basis for use of vitamin D supplements to support improved immune health, and the type of trial needed to effectively assess this.
Curriculum
- 1 Section
- 2 Lessons
- Lifetime
- Vitamin D and the Immune system2
Instructor
Martin Hewison is Professor of Molecular Endocrinology in the Department of Metabolism and Systems Science at the University of Birmingham. His main research interest is vitamin D and human health, and he has published more than 280 research papers on skeletal and extra-skeletal actions of vitamin D and other steroid hormones. Professor Hewison’s group is at the forefront of research linking vitamin D and immune health, with implications for infectious and autoimmune disease, as well as pregnancy. The Hewison group has also pioneered studies of alternative markers of vitamin D ‘status’, including development of novel technology to measure multiple metabolites of vitamin D – the vitamin D metabolome – and analysis of serum vitamin D binding protein as a determinant of vitamin D bioavailability and intracellular actin function. Professor Hewison’s research has been supported by the Royal Society (Wolfson Fellowship), the Medical Research Council and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Diabetes UK, and the National Institutes of Health (USA).
