Vitamin D crucial to activating immune defenses
Wednesday, 03.24.2010, 12:45pm (GMT+3)
Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have
discovered that Vitamin D is crucial to activating our immune defenses
and
that without sufficient intake of the vitamin, the
killer cells of the immune system -- T cells -- will not be able to
react
to and fight off serious infections in the body. For T
cells to detect and kill foreign pathogens such as clumps of bacteria
or viruses, the cells must first be 'triggered' into
action and 'transform' from inactive and harmless immune cells into
killer
cells that are primed to seek out and destroy all
traces of a foreign pathogen. The researchers found that the T cells
rely
on vitamin D in order to activate and they would
remain dormant, 'naïve' to the possibility of threat if vitamin D is
lacking
in the blood. In order for the specialized immune
cells (T cells) to protect the body from dangerous viruses or bacteria,
the T cells must first be exposed to traces of the
foreign pathogen. This occurs when they are presented by other immune
cells
in the body (known as macrophages) with suspicious
'cell fragments' or 'traces' of the pathogen. The T cells then bind to
the fragment and divide and multiply into hundreds of
identical cells that are all focused on the same pathogen type. The
sequence of chemical changes that the T cells undergo
enables them to both be 'sensitized to' and able to deliver a targeted
immune response.
Professor Carsten Geisler from the Department of
International Health, Immunology and Microbiology explains that "when a T
cell is exposed to a foreign pathogen, it extends a
signaling device or 'antenna' known as a vitamin D receptor, with which
it searches for vitamin D. This means that the T cell
must have vitamin D or activation of the cell will cease. If the T cells
cannot find enough vitamin D in the blood, they won't
even begin to mobilize. T cells that are successfully activated
transform
into one of two types of immune cell. They either
become killer cells that will attack and destroy all cells carrying
traces
of a foreign pathogen or they become helper cells that
assist the immune system in acquiring "memory." The helper cells send
messages to the immune system, passing on knowledge
about the pathogen so that the immune system can recognize and remember
it at their next encounter. T cells form part of the
adaptive immune system, which means that they function by teaching the
immune system to recognize and adapt to constantly
changing threats.
Science Daily
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