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vitamin D

vitamin D

Overview

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble secosteroid with central roles in calcium and phosphate homeostasis, skeletal development, and broader endocrine, immune, and neuromuscular regulation. In biomedical research, the term often refers to circulating vitamin D status, commonly assessed as 25-OH vitamin D, as well as the biologically active form 1α,25-(OH)2 vitamin D. Its actions are mediated primarily through the vitamin D receptor, which influences gene transcription and can affect inflammatory signaling, oxidative stress, cell differentiation, and tissue remodeling.

As a therapeutic and preventive target, vitamin D is studied across a wide range of conditions, including obesity-related metabolic dysfunction, osteoporosis, headache, fatty liver disease, vaccine responsiveness, chemotherapy-associated neurotoxicity, and developmental or toxicant-related tissue injury. Recent work also examines how vitamin D status interacts with genetic variation, environmental exposures, and co-interventions such as calcium supplementation.

Focus of Latest Publications

Recent publications on vitamin D as a therapeutic target span preventive, adjunctive, and mechanistic studies across pregnancy, oncology, neurology, metabolic disease, and developmental biology. In pregnancy, a double-blind randomized controlled trial protocol is evaluating whether vitamin D3 supplementation at 2000 IU/day, compared with standard care at 500 IU/day, can reduce preterm birth and premature rupture of membranes in a setting with a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. In breast cancer, a prospective cohort study found that pre-treatment vitamin D insufficiency was independently associated with a markedly higher risk of severe paclitaxel-induced sensory neuropathy, supporting vitamin D status as a potential modifiable factor during chemotherapy. Another cohort study examined baseline active vitamin D levels before COVID-19 mRNA vaccination, reflecting growing interest in whether vitamin D status influences vaccine-induced immunity.

Several studies explored vitamin D in combination with other interventions or compounds. In a rat model of type 2 diabetic nephropathy, vitamin D supplementation combined with resistance training improved glucose metabolism, insulin sensitivity, renal function, fibrosis, and inflammation, with moderate-intensity resistance training producing the strongest effects; this was linked to increased renal vitamin D receptor expression and inhibition of p38 MAPK and ERK1/2 signaling. In contrast, a dental enamel formation study found that calcium and vitamin D supplementation did not significantly reverse fluoride- and amoxicillin-associated enamel disruption or normalize matrix protein alterations under the tested conditions. A melanoma cell study investigated combined liposomal and free formulations of caffeic acid phenethyl ester and vitamin D, focusing on cytotoxicity against melanoma cell lines and effects on normal dermal fibroblasts, consistent with interest in vitamin D-containing anti-tumor combinations.

Other recent work suggests broader biologic and predictive roles for vitamin D. In offspring of mice exposed to maternal propofol, vitamin D was studied for its potential to alleviate neurotoxicity, based on its reported effects on neurotrophin and neuromediator synthesis and on neuroinflammation and neuroapoptosis. In children and adolescents, population-based data showed an inverse association between vitamin D levels and headache risk, with body mass index partially mediating the relationship. Finally, a multiscale drug-discovery analysis for glioma identified vitamin D among candidate therapies and highlighted the vitamin D3 receptor among top interacting targets, reinforcing interest in vitamin D-related pathways in brain tumor biology.

Key Publications

  • NEWJul Impact of vitamin D supplementation on preterm births and premature rupture of membranes: a study protocol for a double-blind randomised controlled trial. (BMJ open, 2026, PMID 42392642): "Vitamin D₃ supplementation during pregnancy may lower the risk of PTB, particularly in populations with a high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency (~90% in India)."
  • NEWJun Synergistic inhibitory effects of combined liposomal formulations of caffeic acid phenethyl ester and vitamin D on melanoma cell proliferation. (Molecular biology reports, 2026, PMID 42340491): "caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) and vitamin D inhibit melanoma growth through various anti-tumor mechanisms."
  • Jun Synergistic Renoprotective Effects of Moderate-Intensity Resistance Training and Vitamin D Supplementation on a Type 2 Diabetic Nephropathy Rat Model. (FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, 2026, PMID 42227748): "Vitamin D (VD) supplementation and resistance exercise synergistically improve diabetic nephropathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)."
  • May Morphological, Histochemical, and Proteomic Analysis of the Effects of Fluoride and Amoxicillin, with Calcium and Vitamin D Supplementation, on Dental Enamel Formation. (Calcified tissue international, 2026, PMID 42184017): "Calcium and vitamin D supplementation have been proposed as potential protective factors against fluoride-induced enamel alterations."
  • May Vitamin D alleviates neurotoxicity induced by propofol anaesthesia in the offspring of mice. (PloS one, 2026, PMID 42172230): "Vitamin D modulates neurotrophin and neuromediator synthesis, reduces neuroinflammation and neuroapoptosis."
  • May Pre-treatment vitamin D insufficiency predicts severe paclitaxel-induced sensory neuropathy in breast cancer patients: a prospective cohort study. (Scientific reports, 2026, PMID 42086647): "the role of modifiable factors, including vitamin D insufficiency, remains poorly characterized."
  • May Vitamin D concentrations and headache risk in children and adolescents aged 6 to 19 years: The mediating role of body mass index. (Medicine, 2026, PMID 42065159): "Emerging evidence suggests vitamin D deficiency might be linked to increased headache risk, though consistent conclusions are lacking due to population and methodological heterogeneity."
  • May Impact of pre-vaccination active vitamin D levels on COVID-19 mRNA vaccine-induced immunity in a Japanese cohort. (Vaccine, 2026, PMID 41980287): "Blood vitamin D levels have been linked to COVID-19 severity; however, the effects of unsupplemented vitamin D levels in the serum on vaccine immunogenicity remain limited."
  • Apr Multiscale analysis and optimal glioma therapeutic candidate discovery using the CANDO platform. (Journal of cheminformatics, 2026, PMID 41968358): "Our predictions, supported by literature-based analysis, identified 24 potential glioma treatments, including approved drugs like vitamin D, taxanes, vinca alkaloids, topoisomerase inhibitors, and folic acid."
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