Vitamin D linked to cancers, autoimmune diseases
Source: Agencies |
August 25, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SCIENTISTS have found that vitamin D influences more than 200 genes, including ones related to cancer and autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis - a discovery that shows how serious vitamin D deficiency can be.
Worldwide, an estimated 1 billion people are deficient in vitamin D, and a team of scientists from Britain and Canada said health authorities should consider recommending supplements for those at most risk.
"Our study shows quite dramatically the wide-ranging influence that vitamin D exerts over our health," said Andreas Heger of the Functional Genomics Unit at Britain's Oxford University, who led the study.
Vitamin D effects our DNA through something called the vitamin D receptor (VDR), which binds to specific locations of the human genome. Heger's team mapped out these points and identified more than 200 genes that it directly influences.
Vitamin D deficiency is a well-known risk factor for rickets, and some evidence suggests it may increase susceptibility to autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes, as well as certain cancers and even dementia.
With this in mind, the group looked at disease-associated regions of the gene map to see if they had higher levels of VDR binding. They found VDR binding was "significantly enriched" in regions linked to several common autoimmune diseases, such as MS, type 1 diabetes and Crohn's disease, as well as in regions associated with cancers such as leukaemia and colorectal cancer.
Sreeram Ramagopalan, of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at Oxford University, said the results showed "just how important vitamin D is to humans, and the wide variety of biological pathways that vitamin D plays a role in."
Most Vitamin D is made by the body as a natural by-product of the skin's exposure to sunlight. It can also be found in fish liver oil, eggs and fatty fish such as salmon, herring and mackerel, or taken as a supplement.
Up to half the world's population has lower than optimal levels of vitamin D, and that about 1 billion people are actually vitamin D deficient. The problem is getting worse as people spend more time indoors.
Worldwide, an estimated 1 billion people are deficient in vitamin D, and a team of scientists from Britain and Canada said health authorities should consider recommending supplements for those at most risk.
"Our study shows quite dramatically the wide-ranging influence that vitamin D exerts over our health," said Andreas Heger of the Functional Genomics Unit at Britain's Oxford University, who led the study.
Vitamin D effects our DNA through something called the vitamin D receptor (VDR), which binds to specific locations of the human genome. Heger's team mapped out these points and identified more than 200 genes that it directly influences.
Vitamin D deficiency is a well-known risk factor for rickets, and some evidence suggests it may increase susceptibility to autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), rheumatoid arthritis and type 1 diabetes, as well as certain cancers and even dementia.
With this in mind, the group looked at disease-associated regions of the gene map to see if they had higher levels of VDR binding. They found VDR binding was "significantly enriched" in regions linked to several common autoimmune diseases, such as MS, type 1 diabetes and Crohn's disease, as well as in regions associated with cancers such as leukaemia and colorectal cancer.
Sreeram Ramagopalan, of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics at Oxford University, said the results showed "just how important vitamin D is to humans, and the wide variety of biological pathways that vitamin D plays a role in."
Most Vitamin D is made by the body as a natural by-product of the skin's exposure to sunlight. It can also be found in fish liver oil, eggs and fatty fish such as salmon, herring and mackerel, or taken as a supplement.
Up to half the world's population has lower than optimal levels of vitamin D, and that about 1 billion people are actually vitamin D deficient. The problem is getting worse as people spend more time indoors.
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