title: Dietary vitamin D3 restriction influences tumor growth, but not the ability to generate an antigen-specific immune response in OTII transgenic mice.
abstract: Initially, we wanted to know whether dietary vitamin D(3) restriction would influence growth and metastasis of the 4T1 murine mammary carcinoma. We confirmed serum 25(OH)D levels were modulated by dietary vitamin D(3) restriction, mice were healthy, and when challenged with the 4T1 tumor alterations in tumor growth, but not metastasis were evident. Tumors grew more rapidly in mice on the vitamin D(3) restricted diet. To delineate whether dietary vitamin D(3) restriction influenced the ability to generate an antigen-specific immune response we used OTII transgenic mice which express a T cell receptor specific for ovalbumin. We found that dietary vitamin D(3) restriction did not influence the health of OTII mice, the number of circulating CD3/CD4(+), CD3/CD8(+), CD4/CD25(+) T cells, nor the ability to generate CD11c(+) bone-marrow derived dendritic cells. T cells from OTII mice maintained on the vitamin D(3) restricted diet also exhibited no significant alterations in proliferative capacity or ability to secrete IFN-gamma or IL-4 in an antigen-specific manner. Yet, EL-4 tumors grew more rapidly in OTII mice on the vitamin D(3) restricted diet. These data show that dietary vitamin D(3) restriction impacts tumor growth, but not the ability to generate an antigen-specific immune response.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Lafayette College, Easton, Pennsylvania 18042, USA.
authors.forename: B D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Kurt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017951:Antigen Presentation / Q000276:immunology; D000941:Antigens / Q000276:immunology; D002112:Calcifediol / Q000097:blood; D002762:Cholecalciferol / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000276:immunology*; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000276:immunology; D008325:Mammary Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000473:pathology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000276:immunology; D016176:T-Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D002762:Cholecalciferol; D015847:Interleukin-4; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D010047:Ovalbumin; D002112:Calcifediol