Vitamin D Deficiency: The Invisible Accomplice of Metabolic Endotoxemia?

Title: Vitamin D Deficiency: The Invisible Accomplice of Metabolic Endotoxemia?

Volume: 15 Issue: 23

Author(s): Paul Lee and Lesley V. Campbell

Affiliation:

Abstract: The aetiology of obesity is multi-factorial. Recent research has identified a novel association between endotoxaemia (circulating lipopolysaccharide in the systemic circulation) and low-grade inflammation in the adipose organ, which may contribute to obesity. The mechanisms for the low-grade elevation of circulating lipopolysaccharide in obesity are poorly understood. Vitamin D has been increasingly recognised for its pleiotropic actions beyond maintenance of musculoskeletal health. The parathyroid-vitamin D axis is altered in obesity. Circulating vitamin D levels are lower in obese individuals. The regulatory role of vitamin D in the immune system and colonic mucosa may explain the under-appreciated contribution of vitamin D deficiency in the obese to the pathogenesis of endotoxaemia and adipose inflammation. We propose a hypothetical model linking metabolic endotoxaemia with vitamin D deficiency in obesity. A therapeutic approach involving the use of probiotics and vitamin D metabolites in the obese is described.

Cite this article as:

Lee Paul and Campbell V. Lesley, Vitamin D Deficiency: The Invisible Accomplice of Metabolic Endotoxemia?, Current Pharmaceutical Design 2009; 15 (23) . https://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138161209788923895