Introduction The causes of autoimmune diseases, including juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) are presumed to involve the interplay of genes and environment. Vitamin D interacts with genes via vitamin D response elements (vdres). The gene PTPN2, associated with various autoimmune diseases including JIA, carries a VDRE and is regulated by vitamin D. Recently, an interaction between PTPN2 and VDR...

Vitamin D is important for the development, growth, and mineralization of the skeletal in neonates and children. Vitamin D is essential for intestinal absorption of calcium. Vitamin D is metabolized to 25-hydroxyvitamin D and then to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. Pregnant women in developed countries often have insufficient serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and a supplementation of vitamin...

Vitamin D plays a role in cancer development and acts through the vitamin D receptor (VDR). It regulates the action of hormone responsive genes and is involved in cell cycle regulation, differentiation and apoptosis. VDR is a critical component of the vitamin D pathway and different common single nucleotide polymorphisms have been identified. Cdx2 VDR polymorphism can play an important role in ...

The hormone 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25-(OH)2D3), the active form of vitamin D3, is an important regulator of calcium homeostasis, exerts antiproliferative effects on various cell systems and can induce differentiation in some kinds of hematopoietic cells. These effects are triggered by its receptor, vitamin D receptor (VDR), a phosphoprotein member of the nuclear receptor superfamily, which...