AUTHOR=Chandel Nirupama , Malhotra Ashwani , Singhal Pravin C. 

TITLE=Vitamin D receptor and epigenetics in HIV infection and drug abuse

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology

VOLUME=6

YEAR=2015

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00788

DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2015.00788

ISSN=1664-302X

ABSTRACT=<p>Illicit drug abuse is highly prevalent and serves as a powerful co-factor for HIV exacerbation. Epigenetic alterations in drug abuse and HIV infection determine expression of several critical genes such as vitamin D receptor (<italic>VDR</italic>), which participates in proliferation, differentiation, cell death under both physiological and pathological conditions. On that account, active vitamin D, the ligand of VDR, is used as an adjuvant therapy to control infection, slow down progression of chronic kidney diseases, and cancer chemotherapy. Interestingly, vitamin D may not be able to augment VDR expression optimally in several instances where epigenetic contributes to down regulation of <italic>VDR</italic>; however, reversal of epigenetic corruption either by demethylating agents (DACs) or histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors would be able to maximize expression of <italic>VDR</italic> in these instances.</p>