TY - JOUR
T1 - Vitamin D and autoimmunity
T2 - Is vitamin D status an environmental factor affecting autoimmune disease prevalence?
AU - Cantorna, Margheritia T.
PY - 2000/3
Y1 - 2000/3
N2 - The environment in which the encounter of antigen with the immune system occurs determines whether tolerance, infectious immunity, or autoimmunity results. Geographical areas with low supplies of vitamin D (for example Scandinavia) correlate with regions with high incidences of multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and diabetes. The active form of vitamin D has been shown to suppress the development of autoimmunity in experimental animal models. Furthermore, vitamin D deficiency increases the severity of at least experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (mouse multiple sclerosis). Targets for vitamin D in the immune system have been identified, and the mechanisms of vitamin D-mediated immunoregulation are beginning to be understood. This review discusses the possibility that vitamin D status is an environmental factor, which by shaping the immune system affects the prevalence rate for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and juvenile diabetes.
AB - The environment in which the encounter of antigen with the immune system occurs determines whether tolerance, infectious immunity, or autoimmunity results. Geographical areas with low supplies of vitamin D (for example Scandinavia) correlate with regions with high incidences of multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and diabetes. The active form of vitamin D has been shown to suppress the development of autoimmunity in experimental animal models. Furthermore, vitamin D deficiency increases the severity of at least experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (mouse multiple sclerosis). Targets for vitamin D in the immune system have been identified, and the mechanisms of vitamin D-mediated immunoregulation are beginning to be understood. This review discusses the possibility that vitamin D status is an environmental factor, which by shaping the immune system affects the prevalence rate for autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and juvenile diabetes.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0034037044&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0034037044&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1046/j.1525-1373.2000.22333.x
DO - 10.1046/j.1525-1373.2000.22333.x
M3 - Short survey
C2 - 10719834
AN - SCOPUS:0034037044
SN - 0037-9727
VL - 223
SP - 230
EP - 233
JO - Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine
JF - Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine
IS - 3
ER -