Background: Leukocyte infiltration into the central nervous system (CNS) in diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS) and experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) have been implicated in subsequent disease pathogenesis and progression. It suggested that vitamin D3 (active form of vitamin D) ameliorates the symptoms of EAE when administered after the onset of clinical sings. The aim of this s...

The role of the prohormone vitamin D3 in regulating calcium and phosphate metabolism in the intestine, kidney, and bone has been known for several decades. Recent studies have provided evidence that vitamin D3, may also play an important role in regulating metabolism in other organs, including heart. This role has been suggested by the identification of a specific receptor for 1,25-dihydroxyvit...

BACKGROUND Emerging evidence indicates that there is an association between vitamin D and obesity. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the level of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3] in the elderly is influenced by parameters of anthropometry and body composition independent of potential confounding lifestyle factors and the level of serum intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH). ME...

Prostate cancer is the most occurring form of cancer in men in Sweden and new candidates for treatment towards advanced phases of prostate cancer needs to be investigated. One suggested treatment is vitamin D which will mediate effect via VDR and PDIA3 and cause cell cycle arrest. Another treatment is digitoxin which will cause accumulation of intracellular Ca leading to apoptosis. The aim of t...

Vitamin D3 and metformin are widely used in humans for regulating mineral metabolism and as an antidiabetic drug, respectively; and both of them have been shown to have chemopreventive effects against various tumors. This study was designed to investigate the potential synergistic chemopreventive effects of vitamin D3 and metformin against the development of early colon neoplasia in two models....

The D3 dopamine receptor is postulated to play an important role in the regulation of neurotransmitter secretion at both pre- and postsynaptic terminals. However, this hypothesis and the underlying mechanisms remain untested because of the lack of D3-selective ligands, paucity of appropriate model secretory systems, and the weak and inconsistent coupling of D3 receptors to classical signal tran...

Endochondral ossification comprises a cascade of cell differentiation culminating in chondrocyte hypertrophy and is negatively controlled by soluble environmental mediators at several checkpoints. Proteinases modulate this control by processing protein signals and/or their receptors. Here, we show that insulin-like growth factor I can trigger hypertrophic development by stimulating production a...

The formation of fatty acid esters of vitamin D3 was demonstrated in rat skin exposed to artificial ultraviolet rays by using multi-dimensional high-performance liquid chromatography, ultraviolet spectrophotometry, and gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. This result indicated that the fatty acid esters of 7-dehydrocholesterol in rat skin (at least 80% of 7-dehydrocholesterol in rat ski...

High doses of the active form of vitamin D3, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3], prevent diabetes in the NOD mouse but also elicit unwanted calcemic side effects. Because immune cells themselves can convert vitamin D3 into 1,25(OH)2D3 locally, we hypothesized that dietary vitamin D3 can also prevent disease. Thus, we evaluated whether dietary administration of high doses of regular vitamin ...