International Journal of Molecular Sciences (Aug 2022)

Anti-Inflammatory Effects of 1,25(OH)2D/Calcitriol in T Cell Immunity: Does Sex Make a Difference?

  • Daniela Peruzzu,
  • Maria Luisa Dupuis,
  • Marina Pierdominici,
  • Katia Fecchi,
  • Maria Cristina Gagliardi,
  • Elena Ortona,
  • Maria Teresa Pagano

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms23169164
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 23, no. 16
p. 9164

Abstract

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Hypovitaminosis D is involved in various inflammatory, infectious and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and multiple sclerosis. Moreover, the active form of vitamin D, calcitriol, has been shown to modulate the immune response, playing an anti-inflammatory effect. However little is known about the mechanisms underlying this anti-inflammatory effect and the potential sex differences of calcitriol immune regulation. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate whether calcitriol could act differently in modulating T cell immunity of age-matched male and female healthy donors. We analyzed the effects of calcitriol in T lymphocytes from healthy women and men on the expression levels of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) and pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine production. We showed that a treatment with calcitriol induced a significant increase in the VDR expression levels of activated T lymphocytes from male and female healthy subjects. Moreover, we found that calcitriol significantly reduced the expression level of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-17, INF-γ and TNF-α in the T lymphocytes of both sexes. Notably, we observed that calcitriol induced a significant increase in the expression level of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 only in the T lymphocytes from female healthy donors. In conclusion, our study provides new insights regarding the sex-specific anti-inflammatory role of calcitriol in T cell immunity.

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