Definition
Vitamin D is a group of fat-soluble secosteroids responsible for the intestinal absorption of calcium, phosphate, and magnesium, and its main role is to maintain serum calcium concentration in normal range. Vitamin D is also known to have non-calcemic actions such as stimulation of insulin production, modulation of the immune system, effects on heart contractility, prevention of inflammatory diseases, and promotion of thyroid-stimulating hormone production (Nagpal et al. 2005).
In humans, cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) is the most important compound, followed by ergocalciferol (vitamin D2). The principal source of endogenous cholecalciferol comes from the lower layers of skin epidermidis, where dehydrocholesterol (provitamin D3), absorbing radiant solar energy (particularly UVB), becomes secosterol (pre-vitamin D3) and finally cholecalciferol (25(OH)2D) (Fig. 1). Only few foods contain small...
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References and Further Reading
Bordelon, P., Ghetu, M. V., & Langan, R. C. (2009). Recognition and management of vitamin D deficiency. American Family Physician, 80(8), 841–846.
Forrest, K. Y., & Stuhldreher, W. L. (2011). Prevalence and correlates of vitamin D deficiency in US adults. Nutrition Research, 31(1), 48–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nutres.2010.12.001.
Haussler, M. R., Jurutka, P. W., Mizwicki, M., & Norman, A. W. (2011). Vitamin D receptor (VDR)-mediated actions of 1alpha,25(OH)(2)vitamin D(3): genomic and non-genomic mechanisms. Best Practice & Research. Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 25(4), 543–559. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beem.2011.05.010.
Holick, M. F., Binkley, N. C., Bischoff-Ferrari, H. A., Gordon, C. M., Hanley, D. A., Heaney, R. P., … Weaver, C. M. (2011). Evaluation, treatment, and prevention of vitamin D deficiency: An Endocrine Society clinical practice guideline. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 96(7), 1911–1930.https://doi.org/10.1210/jc.2011-0385.
Institute of Medicine Committee to Review Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin, D., & Calcium. (2011). The National Academies Collection: Reports funded by National Institutes of Health. In A. C. Ross, C. L. Taylor, A. L. Yaktine, & H. B. Del Valle (Eds.), Dietary reference intakes for calcium and vitamin D. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, National Academy of Sciences.
LeFevre, M. L. (2015). Screening for vitamin D deficiency in adults: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Annals of Internal Medicine, 162(2), 133–140. https://doi.org/10.7326/m14-2450.
Nagpal, S., Na, S., & Rathnachalam, R. (2005). Noncalcemic actions of Vitamin D receptor ligands. Endocrine Reviews, 26(5), 662–687. https://doi.org/10.1210/er.2004-0002.
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Tanda, M.L., Ippolito, S. (2021). Vitamin D. In: van Krieken, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Pathology. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28845-1_5295-1
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