Immunomodulatory role of vitamin D in allergic airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness in bronchial asthma
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1
Creighton University School of Medicine, Center for Clinical & Translational Science, United States
Rationale: Allergic airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) are hallmarks of asthma. NF-κB is a potent transcriptional factor involved in the generation of many inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Active subunits of NF-κB are transported from cytosol to the nucleus by importin-α3 and importin-α4. Vitamin D is a potent immunomodulator regulating immune response. However, role of vitamin D in allergic asthma is still unclear. Here, we examined the effect of vitamin D status on allergic immune response in a mouse model.
Methods: Female pups from vitamin D-deficient BALB/c parents were continued on vitamin D-deficient mice. In parallel, mice were fed with vitamin D-sufficient (2,000 IU/kg) or vitamin D-supplemented (10,000 IU/kg) diet for 13 weeks, then sensitized and challenged with ovalbumin (OVA). Effect of vitamin D status was examined on AHR, airway inflammation, and the expression of importin-α3 and NF-κB in the lungs.
Results: Three groups of mice had serum 25(OH)D levels (ng/ml) of 5.0+0.2, 31.0+0.7, and 67.1+0.5, respectively at 13 weeks following OVA challenge. Vitamin D deficiency exaggerated AHR, collagen deposition, mucus gland hyperplasia, BAL eosinophilia, levels of BALF pro-inflammatory cytokines, and reduced blood T-regulatory cells and BALF IL-10 levels. In the lungs of vitamin D-deficient mice, there was increased expression of importin-α3 and NF-κB and decreased expression of VDR. Vitamin D supplementation did not completely reverse the features of allergic airway inflammation and AHR, but increased circulating T-regulatory cells and reduced pro-inflammatory response.
Conclusion: Vitamin D could be beneficial as an adjunct therapy in the treatment of allergic asthma.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by National Institutes of Health awards number R01AI75315 and R01HL116042 to Dr. DK Agrawal. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Keywords:
Allergic Airway Inflammation,
Allergic Asthma,
Immunomodulation,
Vitamin D,
importin-α
Conference:
15th International Congress of Immunology (ICI), Milan, Italy, 22 Aug - 27 Aug, 2013.
Presentation Type:
Abstract
Topic:
Translational immunology and immune intervention
Citation:
Agrawal
DK,
Agrawal
T and
Gupta
GK
(2013). Immunomodulatory role of vitamin D in allergic airway inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness in bronchial asthma.
Front. Immunol.
Conference Abstract:
15th International Congress of Immunology (ICI).
doi: 10.3389/conf.fimmu.2013.02.00031
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Received:
08 Mar 2013;
Published Online:
22 Aug 2013.
*
Correspondence:
Prof. Devendra K Agrawal, Creighton University School of Medicine, Center for Clinical & Translational Science, OMAHA, NE, 68178, United States, DAgrawal@WesternU.edu