The active form of vitamin D tempers damaging inflammatory response of some white blood cells,
while it also boosts immune cells production of microbe-fighting proteins.
Vitamin D has numerous effects on cells within immune system.
- It inhibits B cell proliferation
- and blocks B cell differentiation
- and immunoglobulin secretion.
Vitamin D additionally suppresses T cell proliferation and results in a shift from Th1 to a Th2 phenotype.
- Vitamin D acts directly on immune cells, which play a key role in autoimmune diseases.
- Clinical studies have demonstrated that vitamin D deficiency is related to morbidity in infectious diseases and the onset or progression of autoimmune diseases, such as RA, SLE, and MS.