Penn State researcher to study how vitamin D regulates host immunity to viral infections

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.November 24, 2020

Funding from the National Institutes of Health will allow a Penn State researcher to investigate whether vitamin D supplementation could help people ward off or reduce symptoms caused by COVID-19.

Margherita Cantorna, a distinguished professor of molecular immunology and nutrition at the College of Agricultural Sciences, received nearly $ 241,000 as part of a competitive final year review of an existing NIH scholarship that supports her research on how vitamin D regulates. the immune system in the gastrointestinal tract.

Cantorna said the addition of two key contributors to the college’s department of veterinary and biomedical sciences makes the new job possible: virologist Troy Sutton, assistant professor of veterinary and biomedical sciences, and Girish Kirimanjiswara, associate professor whose research focuses on immunology and infectious diseases.

Patients with acute respiratory infections have been shown to be vitamin D deficient, and vitamin D supplements have been advertised as being helpful at high doses to prevent seasonal flu. Meanwhile, the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 has generated interest in the potential of high-dose vitamin D supplements to prevent and treat serious diseases associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. “

Margherita Cantorna, distinguished professor of molecular immunology and nutrition, College of Agricultural Sciences, Penn State

Cantorna’s research team has shown that vitamin D plays an important role in maintaining the health of the gastrointestinal tract. Higher levels of vitamin D reduce susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn’s disease, as well as intestinal and lung infections in animals and people. However, too much vitamin D can be harmful.

Cantorna noted that local and systemic inflammation caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection is not well understood, and controlling that inflammation can improve outcomes for COVID-19 patients. Although low vitamin D has been associated with acute respiratory disease, research has not confirmed a causal relationship.

“We still don’t fully understand the mechanisms behind the effects of vitamin D in the lung or how vitamin D regulates host immunity to viral infections,” he said. “These significant knowledge gaps have hindered the development of accurate interventions and messages that include vitamin D for the treatment and prevention of respiratory diseases.”

Using mouse and hamster models, Cantorna’s team will test whether supplemental vitamin D treatments will limit viral replication and / or inflammation in the lung leading to protection against severe SARS-CoV-2 infection.

“We plan to determine the effects, dose and timing of possible vitamin D interventions in infected animals,” Cantorna said. “Since SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to infect the gastrointestinal tract, the benefits of vitamin D could include the regulation of gastrointestinal immunity and lung immunity.”

He added that all work with SARS-CoV-2 viruses will be performed at the Eva J. Pell Laboratory for Enhanced Biological Research, which is Penn State’s state-of-the-art Level 3 biosecurity facility.

“In some cases, the most vulnerable people are told they should take vitamin D supplements to protect themselves from COVID-19, with no evidence of efficacy or safety,” Cantorna said. “We hope our findings will contribute to the development of responsible guidance on whether high amounts of vitamin D are safe and effective in alleviating this disease.