Cord Blood Vitamin D Status Impacts Innate Immune Responses

Vitamin D status in cord blood and newborns: ethnic differences

BACKGROUND A deficiency in vitamin D (25OHD) is common throughout the world in both adults and children, being related to skin pigmentation, sun exposure, dietary intake and obesity. Limited data are available for the neonatal age. The aim of the study is to understand the differences in 25OHD levels with respect to skin colour and ethnicity in newborns. METHODS We randomly enrolled 62 neonat...

Immunomodulatory effects of vitamin D on innate and adaptive immune responses to Streptococcus pneumoniae.

BACKGROUND Streptococcus pneumoniae forms part of the normal nasopharyngeal flora but can also cause a broad spectrum of inflammatory diseases. Vitamin D has potent effects on human immunity, including induction of antimicrobial peptides and suppression of T-cell proliferation, but its ability to modulate the immune response to pneumococci is unknown. METHODS Monocyte-derived dendritic cells ...

Innate immune responses in cord blood, and the influence of pathological pregnancy

HCV Innate Immune Responses

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) establishes a persistent infection in more than 70% of infected individuals. This striking ability to evade the powerful innate immune system results from viral interference occurring at several levels of the interferon (IFN) system. There is strong evidence from cell culture experiments that HCV can inhibit the induction of IFNβ by cleaving important proteins in the vir...

Maternal and Cord Blood Vitamin D Status and Anthropometric Measurements in Term Newborns at Birth

Introduction Vitamin D deficiency in pregnant women may result in reduced neonatal development due to the fact that systemic vitamin D status during fetal life depends on maternal concentrations. Some authors reported significant differences in neonatal anthropometric measurements depending on maternal vitamin D concentrations. Objective The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship b...