Immune system both activates and uses vitamin D (in brain, fight COVID, etc.) - March 2022

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COVID-19 and neurological sequelae: Vitamin D as a possible neuroprotective and/or neuroreparative agent

Life Sciences 297 (2022) 12046 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lfs.2022.120464
Sebastian García Menendez a,b, Virna Margarita Martín Giménez c, Michael F. Holick d, Francisco J. Barrantes e, Walter Manucha a,b’*

Fig. 2. Schematic representation of paracrine and intracrine function of vitamin D and its metabolites and actions of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D on the innate and adaptive immune systems.

1,25(OH)2D = 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D; 25(OH)D = 25-hydroxyvitamin D; IFN-Y = interferon-Y; IL = interleukin; MHC = membrane histocompatibility complex; TH1 = T helper 1; TH2 = T helper 2; TH17 = T helper 17; Treg = regulatory T cell; TLR2 = toll-like receptor 2; TLR4 = toll-like receptor 4; TNF-a = tumor necrosis factor- a.

• a Laboratorio de Farmacología Experimental Básica y Traslacional, Area de Farmacología, Departamento de Patología, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina
• b Instituto de Medicina y Biología Experimental de Cuyo, Consejo Nacional de Investigación Científica y Tecnologica (IMBECU-CONICET), Mendoza, Argentina
• c Instituto de Investigaciones en Ciencias Químicas, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas y Tecnológicas, Universidad Católica de Cuyo, San Juan, Argentina
• d Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes, Nutrition and Weight Management, Department of Medicine, Boston University Medical Campus, 715 Albany St #437, Boston, MA 02118, USA
• e Laboratorio de Neurobiología Molecular, Instituto de Investigaciones Biomódicas (BIOMED), UCA-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina

SARS-CoV-2, the etiological agent of the current COVID-19 pandemic, belongs to a broad family of coronaviruses that also affect humans. SARS-CoV-2 infection usually leads to bilateral atypical pneumonia with significant impairment of respiratory function. However, the infectious capacity of SARS-CoV-2 is not limited to the respiratory system, but may also affect other vital organs such as the brain. The central nervous system is vulnerable to cell damage via direct invasion or indirect virus-related effects leading to a neuroinflammatory response, processes possibly associated with a decrease in the activity of angiotensin II converting enzyme (ACE2), the canonical cell-surface receptor for SARS-CoV-2. This enzyme regulates neuroprotective and neuroimmunomodulatory functions and can neutralize both inflammation and oxidative stress generated at the cellular level. Furthermore, there is evidence of an association between vitamin D deficiency and predisposition to the development of severe forms of COVID-19, with its possible neurological and neuropsychiatric sequelae: vitamin D has the ability to down-modulate the effects of neuroinflammatory cytokines, among other antiinflammatory/immunomodulatory effects, thus attenuating harmful consequences of COVID-19. This review critically analyzes current evidence supporting the notion that vitamin D may act as a neuroprotective and neuroreparative agent against the neurological sequelae of COVID-19.
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Vitamin D may be the single best way to improve the immune system

• COVID test positive is about half as likely if have Vitamin D – 24th meta-analysis - Jan 2022
  • Vitamin D improved immune system so much that half did not even test positive
• Vitamin D helps both the innate and adaptive immune systems fight COVID-19 – Jan 2022
• Only a single supplement taken before infection decreased COVID severity (vitamin D) – Feb 2022
• How vitamins A, B, C, D, E, F (Omega), K fight COVID - Feb 2022

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VitaminDwiki studies in both categories: Virus and Immunity

This list is automatically updated

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VitaminDWiki - Immunity category

249 items in Immunity category

    see also

Virus category listing has 1209 items along with related searches

Overview Influenza and vitamin D
Vitamin D helps both the innate and adaptive immune systems fight COVID-19 – Jan 2022
Vitamin D aids the clearing out of old cells (autophagy) – many studies
600,000 IU of Vitamin D (total) allowed previously weak immune systems to fight off a virus antigen - Nov 2020
Search for treg OR "t-cell" in VitaminDWiki 1440 items as of Jan 2020
141 VitaminDWiki pages contained "infection" in title (June 2021)
Search VitaminDWik for BACTERIA in title 25 items as of Aug 2019
Vitamin D and the Immune System – chapter Aug 2019
7X less risk of influenza if Vitamin D levels higher than 30 ng – Oct 2017
Common cold prevented and treated by Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Zinc, and Echinacea – review April 2018
Vitamin D improves T Cell immunity – RCT Feb 2016
Immune system - great 11-minute animated video - Aug 2021 nothing about Vitamin D
18 titles in VitaminDWiki contained INNATE or ADAPTIVE as of Jan 2023
Increasing publications on vitamin D and Infection

45 studies are in both Immunity and Virus categories

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Many cells can semi-activate, fully activate, and use vitamin D