Elahe Aleebrahim-Dehkordi, Niloofar Deravi, Shirin Yaghoobpoor, Dariush Hooshyar and Mahmoud Rafieian-Kopaei* Pages 4452 - 4463 ( 12 )
Background: It is known that vitamin D can increase the body’s immunity against some viral infections. Many people worldwide have vitamin D deficiency; therefore, this has become a public concern whether vitamin D is an important factor protecting against COVID-19 infection. In this paper, the data about the roles of vitamin D in immunity and recovery from viral infections, especially novel Coronavirus disease (COVID- 19), are reviewed.
Methods: The electronic databases of Pubmed, Google Scholar, Research Gate, Excerpta Media Database (EMBASE), and Medical and Health Education (Medrix) were searched.
Results: Vitamin D is considered an important factor in immune homeostasis. Various effects have been considered for this nutrient on the immune system, particularly because of vitamin D receptor (VDR) and Cytochrome P450 Family 27 Subfamily B Member 1 (CYP27B1) expression in most of the immune cells. Vitamin D can increase cellular immunity, reduce cytokine storm, and enhance antioxidants production. It also has modulatory effects on Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) receptors and might have protective functions against acute lung injuries, including COVID-19 infection. However, there are some articles against this positive effect.
Conclusion: Vitamin D supplementation is reported to be effective in the enhancement of the immune system and might be effective in the treatment and prevention of COVID-19 infection, especially in those with its deficiency. However, it should be considered that vitamin D deficiency shows the overall health status of the patients and cannot be considered specific for COVID-19 infection.
Vitamin D, VDR, viral infections, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, immunity, supplementation.
Medical Plants Research Center, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Faculty of Medicine, Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences, Bandar Abbas, Medical Plants Research Center, Basic Health Sciences Institute, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, Shahrekord