Vitamin D Supplementation Reduces Airway Hyperresponsiveness and Allergic Airway Inflammation in a Murine Model

Abstract

Background Asthma is a chronic disease associated with airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR), airway obstruction, and airway remodeling. NF-κB is a transcriptional factor that regulates and co-ordinates the expression of various inflammatory genes. The NF-κB subunits, p50 and Rel-A, are translocated to the nucleus by importin α3 and importin α4. There is growing evidence that vitamin D is a potent immunomodulator. However, the evidence for beneficial or adverse effects of vitamin D in asthma is still unclear.