| Title | Vitamin D represses rhinovirus replication in cystic fibrosis cells by inducing LL-37. | ||
| Author | Schogler, Aline; Muster, Ricardo J; Kieninger, Elisabeth; Casaulta, Carmen; Tapparel, Caroline; Jung, Andreas; Moeller, Alexander; Geiser, Thomas; Regamey, Nicolas; Alves, Marco P | ||
| Journal | Eur Respir J | Publication Year/Month | 2016-Feb |
| PMID | 26585423 | PMCID | -N/A- |
| Affiliation + expend | 1.Division of Paediatric Respiratory Medicine, University Children's Hospital, Bern, Switzerland Dept of Clinical Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland Graduate School for Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. | ||
Vitamin D has immunomodulatory properties in the defence against pathogens. Its insufficiency is a widespread feature of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, which are repeatedly suffering from rhinovirus (RV)-induced pulmonary exacerbations.To investigate whether vitamin D has antiviral activity, primary bronchial epithelial cells from CF children were pre-treated with vitamin D and infected with RV16. Antiviral and anti-inflammatory activity of vitamin D was assessed. RV and LL-37 levels were measured in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) of CF children infected with RV.Vitamin D reduced RV16 load in a dose-dependent manner in CF cells (10(-7 )M, p<0.01). The antiviral response mediated by interferons remained unchanged by vitamin D in CF cells. Vitamin D did not exert anti-inflammatory properties in RV-infected CF cells. Vitamin D increased the expression of the antimicrobial peptide LL-37 up to 17.4-fold (p<0.05). Addition of exogenous LL-37 decreased viral replication by 4.4-fold in CF cells (p<0.05). An inverse correlation between viral load and LL-37 levels in CF BAL (r=-0.48, p<0.05) was observed.RV replication in primary CF bronchial cells was reduced by vitamin D through the induction of LL-37. Clinical studies are needed to determine the importance of an adequate control of vitamin D for prevention of virus-induced pulmonary CF exacerbations.