Abstract
Background: Previous works revealed the beneficial impact of Vitamin D3 (VitD) on host defense and withal, VitD deficiency is common in patients with chronic pulmonary disorders. The aim of the present study was to analyze the influence of VitD on the pulmonary host defense system during infection.
Methods: C57BL/6N mice were fed on a diet with or without VitD for ten weeks. The VitD deficient and the control mice were infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Streptococcus pneumoniae. After well-defined points in time the colonization and the inflammation of the lung were analyzed.
Results: The serum 25-hydroxy-Vitamin D3 concentration was dramatically lower in mice on the VitD deficient diet. The deficient animals did not show any other phenotype. In infection experiments with Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Streptococcus pneumonia, no differences could be observed in number of viable bacteria or in differential cell counts in the bronchoalveolar lavages. Measurements of inflammatory cytokines (KC, IL-1beta) did not show a consistent pattern.
Conclusions: In the present study no significant breach in pulmonary host defense could be observed in VitD deficient animals. The analyzed parameters did not show a direct influence of VitD on the immune system of the lung.
- Copyright ©ERS 2015