VitD and TNF

Take-home message: Many take remicade to treat Crohn's Disease. Remicade's therapeutic effect is suspected to be due to it's modulation of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor which is a component of an immune response. Interestingly, VitD also works on the TNF receptor as well. This article describes some of the recent research on VitD, the immune system and TNF.

Infliximab ( trade name Remicade) is a monoclonal antibody against tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) used to treat autoimmune diseases. Infliximab is used for the treatment of psoriasis, Vitamin D, Vitamin D Receptor, and Macroautophagy in Inflammation and Infection

Abstract: Vitamin D is involved in mineral and bone homeostasis, immune responses, anti-inflammation, anti-infection, and cancer prevention. Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is a nuclear receptor that mediates most biological functions of 1,25(OH)₂D₃ or vitamin D_3, the active form of vitamin D. Recently, vitamin D₃-induced autophagy has been reported. Autophagy is a lysosome-mediated catabolic pathway classified into three different types: macroautophagy, microautophagy, and chaperone-mediated autophagy. Autophagy contributes to anti-aging, antimicrobial defense, and tumor suppression. The functions of autophagy overlap remarkably with those of vitamin D/VDR signaling. This review focuses on vitamin D₃, VDR, and macroautophagy in inflammation and infection. We place emphasis on the regulatory roles of vitamin D₃ on autophagy at different steps, including induction, nucleation, elongation to maturation, and degradation. We summarize the known molecular mechanisms of vitamin D/VDR signaling on autophagy homeostasis. The potential application of the insights gleaned from these research findings to anti-inflammation and anti-infection is also discussed.