Vitamin D in chronic kidney disease--new insights.

摘要

Recent advances in vitamin D research have increased our understanding that in addition to the traditional role vitamin D has on calcium/phosphorus homeostasis and bone health, it also has a much broader role on many human physiological processes. It is now known that the sole "active" hormonal form of vitamin D, 1alpha,25 dihydroxyvitamin D_3 or calcitriol acts via a vitamin D receptor (VDR) found on many cells throughout the body, not just the traditional sites in bone, intestine, and kidney. Over 37 tissues are now known to possess the VDR site, and these tissues are found in five additional physiologic systems: the immune, pancreas, cardiovascular, muscle, and central nervous systems (Norman, 2008).