title: Vitamin D: a new player in kidney transplantation?
abstract: Vitamin D is a hormone with pleiotropic effects. It mainly regulates calcium and phosphate metabolism through interactions with FGF23 and its receptor klotho. In addition, it has been shown that Vitamin D also regulates the immune response and has protective effects from cardiovascular disease, cancer and infections. Most renal transplant recipients have overt Vitamin D deficiency, a condition that may be associated with a decline in graft function and other complications. After kidney transplantation, elevated levels of FGF23 may predict increased risks of death and allograft loss. Theoretically, an optimal Vitamin D supplementation might favor operational tolerance and protect transplant recipients from the triad cardiovascular disease-cancer-infection. However, more solid data are needed to confirm this and to set the optimal level of serum Vitamin D supplementation in order to attain the best clinical outcome.
authors.affiliation: Nephrology and Dialysis Unit, Humanitas Clinical and Research Centre, via Manzoni 56, Rozzano (Mi), Italy.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ponticelli
authors.forename: Gabriele
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sala
mesh_terms: D000089703:Fibroblast Growth Factor-23; D006801:Humans; D016030:Kidney Transplantation; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: C000717427:FGF23 protein, human; D014807:Vitamin D; D000089703:Fibroblast Growth Factor-23
keywords: cardiovascular disease; immunosuppression; rejection; renal transplantation; vitamin D; vitamin and hormone