Vitamin Supplements
Vitamin D Crucial to Activating Immune Defenses...
Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have discovered that Vitamin D is crucial to activating our immune defenses and that without proper intake of the vitamin, the killer cells of the immune system (known as T cells) will not be able to react sufficiently and fight off serious infections in the body.
For T cells to detect and kill foreign pathogens such as clumps of bacteria or viruses, the cells must first be 'triggered' into action and 'transform' from inactive and harmless immune cells into killer cells that are primed to seek out and destroy all traces of a foreign pathogen.The researchers found that the T cells rely on vitamin D in order to activate and they would remain dormant, unresponsive to the possibility of threat if vitamin D is lacking in the blood.
Chemical Reaction that Enables Activation...
In order for the specialized immune cells (T cells) to protect the body from dangerous viruses or invading bacteria, the T cells must first be exposed to traces of the foreign pathogen. This occurs when they are presented by other immune cells in the body (known as macrophages) with suspicious cell fragments or traces of the pathogen. The T cells then bind to the fragment and divide and multiply into hundreds of identical cells that are all focused on the same pathogen type. The sequence of chemical changes that the T cells undergo enables them to both be sensitized to and able to deliver a targeted immune response.
When a T cell is exposed to a foreign pathogen, it extends a signaling device acting like an antenna (known as a vitamin D receptor) to search for vitamin D. This means that the T cell must have vitamin D or activation of the cell will cease. If the T cells cannot find enough vitamin D in the blood, they cannot begin to mobilize.
T cells that are successfully activated transform into one of two types of immune cell. They either become killer cells that will attack and destroy all cells carrying traces of a foreign pathogen or they become helper cells that assist the immune system in acquiring memory.The helper cells send messages to the immune system, passing on knowledge about the pathogen so that the immune system can recognize and remember it at their next encounter. T cells form part of the adaptive immune system, which means that they function by assisting the immune system to recognize and effectively adapt to constantly changing threats.
The researchers wrote "Scientists have known for a long time that vitamin D is important for calcium absorption and the vitamin has also been implicated in diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis, but what we didn't realize is how crucial vitamin D is for actually activating the immune system, which we know now."
Identifying the Role of Vitamin D in the Activation of T Cells Has Been a Major Breakthrough...
In autoimmune disease, hypersensitive T cells mistake fragments of the body's own cells for foreign pathogens, leading to the body to launch an attack upon itself.
The research team was also able to track the biochemical sequence of the transformation of an inactive T cell to an active cell, and thus would be able to intervene at several points to modulate the immune response. Inactive T cells crucially contain neither the vitamin D receptor nor a specific molecule (PLC-gamma1) that would enable the cell to deliver an antigen specific response.
The discovery provides much needed information about the immune system and will help scientists regulate the immune response. This is important not only in fighting disease but also in dealing with anti-immune reactions of the body and the rejection of transplanted organs. Active T cells multiply at an explosive rate and can create an inflammatory environment with serious consequences for the body. As an example after organ transplants, T cells can attack the donor organ as a foreign invader.
The researchers believe "the findings could help us to combat infectious diseases and global epidemics, particularly useful when developing new vaccines."
Most Vitamin D is produced as a natural byproduct of the skin's exposure to sunlight. It can also be found in fish liver oil, eggs and fatty fish such as salmon, herring and mackerel or taken as a dietary supplement.
Journal Reference: Nature Immunology, 2010 von Essen et al. Vitamin D controls T cell antigen receptor signaling and activation of human T cells.
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Vitamin D and Curcumin May Benefit Patients With Alzheimer's Disease By Helping Clear Amyloid Plaques
UCLA scientists and colleagues from UC Riverside and the Human BioMolecular Research Institute have found that vitamin D, together with a natural compound found in turmeric spice called curcumin, may help stimulate the immune system to clear the brain of amyloid beta, which forms the plaques considered the hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.
The early research findings, which appear in the July issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, may lead to new approaches in preventing and treating Alzheimer's by utilizing the property of vitamin D, both alone and together with curcumin to boost the immune system in protecting the brain against amyloid beta.
Vitamin D is an essential nutrient for bone and immune system health; its main source is sunshine, and it is synthesized through the skin. Deficiencies may occur during winter months or in those who spend a lot of time indoors, such as Alzheimer's patients. "We hope that vitamin D3 and curcumin, both naturally occurring nutrients, may offer new preventive and treatment possibilities for Alzheimer's disease," explained a leading researcher at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System.
Using blood samples from nine Alzheimer's patients, one patient with mild cognitive impairment and three healthy control subjects, scientists isolated monocyte cells, which transform into macrophages that act as the immune system's clean-up mechanism, traveling through the brain and body and gobbling up waste products, including amyloid beta. Researchers incubated the macrophages with amyloid beta, vitamin D3 and curcumin.
The team discovered that curcuminoids enhanced the surface binding of amyloid beta to macrophages and that vitamin D strongly stimulated the uptake and absorption of amyloid beta in macrophages in a majority of patients.
Previous research by the team demonstrated that the immune genes are associated with the immune system's ability to better ingest amyloid beta. In this earlier work, it was shown that there are two types of Alzheimer's patients: Type 1 patients, who respond positively to curcuminoids, and Type II patients, who do not.
Since vitamin D and curcumin work differently with the immune system, we may find that a combination of the two or each used alone may be more effective, depending on the individual patient. No dosage of vitamin D or curcumin can be recommended at this point. Larger vitamin D and curcumin studies with more patients are planned, the researchers noted.
The study was funded by the Human BioMolecular Research Institute, the Alzheimer's Association and MP Biomedicals LLC, a global life sciences and diagnostics company dedicated to Alzheimer's disease research.
