title: Vitamin D Deficiency Does Not Result in a Breach of Host Defense in Murine Models of Pneumonia.
abstract: Vitamin D (VitD) has a role in the regulation of calcium and phosphate metabolism and in addition impacts the activity of the immune system. VitD deficiency might be linked to increased susceptibility to respiratory tract infection. The aim of the present study was to characterize the impact of VitD deficiency on the susceptibility to bacterial infection in murine models. C57BL/6N mice were fed a diet with or without VitD for 10 weeks. The VitD-deficient or -sufficient mice were infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Streptococcus pneumoniae The colonization and inflammatory response in the lung were analyzed at defined time points. The serum 25-hydroxy-VitD concentration was significantly lower in mice on the VitD-deficient diet. In infection experiments with Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Streptococcus pneumoniae, no differences could be observed in the numbers of viable bacteria or in differential cell counts in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluids. Measurements of inflammatory cytokines (KC and interleukin-1β [IL-1β]) did not show significant differences between the groups. In conclusion, VitD-deficient animals did not show significantly increased susceptibility to infection or an altered course of infection. The immune systems of humans and mice likely respond differently to VitD. Murine models are likely not appropriate for drawing conclusions on the role of VitD in human pulmonary host defense.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine V-Pulmonology, Allergology and Critical Care Medicine, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Niederstrasser
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine V-Pulmonology, Allergology and Critical Care Medicine, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Herr
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine V-Pulmonology, Allergology and Critical Care Medicine, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) and Helmholtz Center for Infection Research (HZI), Department DDEL, and Department of Pharmacy, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany.
authors.forename: Claus M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lehr
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine V-Pulmonology, Allergology and Critical Care Medicine, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Beisswenger
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine V-Pulmonology, Allergology and Critical Care Medicine, Saarland University, Homburg, Germany robert.bals@uks.eu.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bals
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001992:Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D053583:Interleukin-1beta / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D011008:Pneumococcal Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D018410:Pneumonia, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D011552:Pseudomonas Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000302:isolation & purification; D013296:Streptococcus pneumoniae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014807:Vitamin D / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000097:blood; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D053583:Interleukin-1beta; D014807:Vitamin D; C104450:25-hydroxyvitamin D