title: Vitamin D for infections.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Current data clearly support an interaction of vitamin D with cells of the immune system apart from its regulatory role in calcium homeostasis. The discovery that immune cells express the vitamin D receptor and are capable of metabolizing circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D into its active form, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, has revolutionized the field and suggested a regulatory role on both the innate and adaptive immune systems.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of particular interest with respect to infectious diseases, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D has been shown to trigger the production of antimicrobial peptides with a direct pathogen-killing capacity. Interestingly, pathogen-derived components influence the key players in the vitamin D metabolizing pathway, further supporting such an interaction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Here, we review the potential mechanisms of vitamin D in promoting the innate immune response against infectious agents and discuss the possible implications for such a response in the prevention of or the intervention in various infectious diseases.
authors.affiliation: Clinical and Experimental Endocrinology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: Hannelie
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Korf
authors.forename: Brigitte
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Decallonne
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mathieu
mesh_terms: D056704:Adaptive Immunity / Q000187:drug effects; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D002117:Calcitriol / Q000172:deficiency / Q000502:physiology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000187:drug effects; D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology*; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology*; D014815:Vitamins / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D018167:Receptors, Calcitriol; D014815:Vitamins; D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D; D002117:Calcitriol