Vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms have been suggested as possible determinants of bone mineral density (BMD) and calcium metabolism. In this study, our aim was to determine whether there is an association between VDR gene polymorphism and osteomalacia or not. We determined ApaI and TaqI polymorphisms in the vitamin D receptor gene in 24 patients with osteomalacia and 25 age-matched he...

There is a mushrooming interest in the anti-carcinogenic property of vitamin D. However, many researches reported conflicting result association D levels to certain types cancer. This study was designed assess between and receptor (VDR) expression with breast case-control study, carried out at Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, involved 69 newly diagnosed cancer patients 73 healthy v...

Vitamin D provides a significant benefit to human health, and its deficiency has been linked to a variety of diseases including cancer. Vitamin D exhibits anticancer effects perhaps through inhibition of angiogenesis. We previously showed that the active form of vitamin D (1, 25(OH)2D3; calcitriol) is a potent inhibitor of angiogenesis in mouse model of oxygen-induced ischemic retinopathy (OIR)...

INTRODUCTION In the past years, the biologically active form of vitamin D(3), 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) (1α,25(OH)(2)D(3)), has received large appreciation due to the broad physiological impact of the hormone and its nuclear receptor, the transcription factor vitamin D receptor (VDR). Recently, the understanding of VDR actions has progressed greatly, due to VDR crystal structures with various...

Potential relationship of vitamin D, vitamin D receptor (VDR), and vitamin D binding protein (DBP) have been suggested in the pathophysiology of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. The aim of this observational study is to determine vitamin D levels, and VDR and DBP genetic polymorphism according demographic and laboratory data in chronic HCV patients (CHC).A total of 148 CHC patients gave serum...

BACKGROUND The FokI vitamin D receptor (VDR) polymorphism results in different translation initiation sites on VDR. In the VDRff variant, initiation of translation occurs at the first ATG site, giving rise to a full length VDR protein of 427 amino acids. Conversely, in the VDRFF variant, translation begins at the second ATG site, resulting in a truncated protein with three less amino acids. Epi...

In our previous reports, it was revealed that steroids in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have the therapeutic potential to treat bone disease. In the present study, an in vitro model of a vitamin D receptor response element (VDRE) reporter gene assay in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) was used to identify steroids that enhanced osteogenic differentiation of MSCs. (+)-cholesten-3-one (CN), whi...

BACKGROUND Canadian First Nation populations have experienced endemic and epidemic tuberculosis (TB) for decades. Vitamin D-mediated induction of the host defence peptide LL-37 is known to enhance control of pathogens such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis. OBJECTIVE Evaluate associations between serum levels of 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) and LL-37, in adult Dene First Nation participants (N ...

The focus of the current review is to highlight some new insights into the molecular mechanism by which vitamin D, a potentially nutritionally modulated factor, influences adipogenesis. Recent studies, predominantly using the mouse 3T3-L1 pre-adipocyte cell culture model, have shown that the role of vitamin D in inhibiting adipogenesis is mediated at the molecular level through a vitamin D rece...