Vitamin D: Current Issues and New Perspectives

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue will focus on the potential role and mechanisms of vitamin D for maintaining optimal health and preventing disease. The title, “Vitamin D: Current Issues and New Perspectives”, is intentionally broad, to be of interest to scientists working in the most promising areas of vitamin D research.

Vitamin D₃, a hormone precursor and a micronutrient, is increasingly often considered important for disease prevention and maintaining good health throughout the life; however, the causality of these claims has not been mechanistically or probabilistically substantiated. The hormone 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ (1,25(OH)₂D₃) functions via genomic and nongenomic mechanisms in a number of cell types, and vitamin D hormonal and nutritional status has been linked to multiple diseases and disorders. For example, vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency have been associated with the increased risk of cancer, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, infectious and immune-mediated diseases, cardiovascular disease, etc.  A promising approach for the prevention of these diseases may include maintaining the optimal vitamin D status, while specifically designed vitamin D analogs can be used to trigger vitamin D-dependent cellular responses (e.g., intracellular Ca²⁺ signals, apoptosis, immune response) that are mechanistically linked to the disease treatment. Understanding the role of 1,25(OH)₂D₃ in regulation of cellular signaling may lead to discovery of novel therapeutic and preventive modalities for various diseases. Understanding the role of vitamin D endocrine system and vitamin D nutritional and hormonal status in regulation of physiological functions may help to develop new approaches for the disease prevention and maintaining good health.   

The purpose of this Special Issue is to provide an update on vitamin D mechanism and function, including novel insights on mechanisms of action of 1,25(OH)₂D₃ , as well as to discuss the role of and new perspectives for vitamin D in maintaining optimal health and disease prevention. The Editors of Nutrients extend an invitation to scientists to submit original research or reviews on any of the above topics for this Special Issue on vitamin D.

Prof. Dr. Igor N. Sergeev
Guest Editor

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