[Non phosphocalcic actions of vitamin D]

Vitamin D cannot any more be considered as exclusively necessary to prevent rickets or osteomalacia. Calcitriol produced in the kidney is known to have classical endocrine phosphocalcic properties. However, many other tissues express both vitamin D receptor and 1a-hydroxylase and can convert 25-hydroxy vitamin D into calcitriol. Calcitriol produced locally is considered to have autocrine and paracrine actions on cellular proliferation and differentiation, apoptosis, insulin and renin secretion, interleukin and bactericidal proteins production. Epidemiologic and experimental data argue in favour of a protective role of vitamin D against cancers, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular, auto-immune and infectious diseases, chronic kidney disease and loss of muscular strength. A few interventional studies confirm the protective effect of vitamin D against cancers, intermediate markers of cardiovascular risk, epidemic influenza, albuminuria and risk of fall. We present here the non phosphocalcic actions of vitamin D.