Retinyl Palmitate Supplementation Modulates T-bet and Interferon Gamma Gene Expression in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Vitamin A derivatives such as retinoic acid may improve the impaired balance of CD4+ T cells in autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. This study is a double-blind randomized trial to evaluate the effect of vitamin A (as form of retinyl palmitate) supplementation on multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Thirty-nine patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to two groups. Both groups were followed for 6 months. The experimental group received 25,000 IU of retinyl palmitate daily, while the control group received a placebo. Before and after the study, the expression of interferon gamma (IFN-γ) and T-bet genes was evaluated in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients by RT-PCR. The results showed that after 6 months of supplementation, expression of IFN-γ and T-bet was significantly decreased. These data suggest that retinyl palmitate supplementation can modulate the impaired balance of Th1 and Th2 cells and vitamin A products that may be involved in the therapeutic mechanism of vitamin A in MS patients. This study provides information regarding the decreased gene expression of IFN-γ and T-bet in MS by retinyl palmitate supplementation.