Abstract
Vitamin D is a secosteroid hormone regulating the expression of almost 900 genes, and it is involved in the regulation of calcium and phosphate metabolism, immune response, and brain development. Low blood vitamin D levels have been reported in patients affected by various diseases. Despite a large amount of literature data, there is uncertainty surrounding the role of vitamin D as a serum biomarker in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). Indeed, the lack of internationally recognized 25(OH)D3 reference measurement procedures and standard materials in the past led to unstandardized serum total 25(OH)D3 results among research and clinical care laboratories. Thus, most of the literature studies reported unstandardized data, which are of little use and make it difficult to draw conclusions of the role of vitamin D in AD and PD. This review summarizes the extra-skeletal actions of vitamin D, focusing its role in immunomodulation and brain function, and reports the issue of lacking standardized literature data concerning the usefulness of vitamin D as a biomarker in AD and PD.
Highlights
In the early 1920s, amid the industrial revolution, McCollum discovered that fish oil containing a high amount of vitamin D could treat rickets [1]
The interaction between 1,25(OH)2 D and protein disulfide isomers family A members 3 (PDIA3) receptor is deemed to mediate vitamin D brain action, while the modulation of the immune response depends on the interaction with vitamin D Receptor (VDR) [21]
GDNF and its receptor proto-oncogene tyrosine-protein kinase receptor Ret (C-Ret) have been recently shown to be directly regulated by vitamin D in SH-SY5Y cells [44]. This result confirms previous findings on the role that vitamin D plays in the differentiation of dopaminergic neurons by influencing critical enzymes involved in dopamine production pathways, such as tyrosine hydroxylase and catechol-O-methyltransferase [45]
Summary
In the early 1920s, amid the industrial revolution, McCollum discovered that fish oil containing a high amount of vitamin D could treat rickets [1]. Skeletal health and bone metabolism have been invariably associated with vitamin D status. Vitamin D is regarded as a neurosteroid regulating immunomodulation and brain development and function in adulthood [2,3]. There is no consensus on the optimal vitamin D status due to the lack of standardized measurement procedures and materials, as shown for other analytes [4,5,6]. The current paper summarizes the extra-skeletal actions of vitamin D, focusing on the modulation of immune response and brain activities. It mentions the issue of the lack of vitamin D standardized data in the literature, especially concerning neurodegenerative diseases
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