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Vitamin A, immunity, and infection

R D Semba1

  • 1Dana Center, Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases, Baltimore, Maryland.

Clinical Infectious Diseases : an Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
|September 1, 1994
PubMed
Summary

Vitamin A plays a crucial role in immunity, enhancing immune responses and reducing severe illness from infectious diseases, especially in children. Supplementation shows significant benefits for children with measles or in vitamin A-deficient regions.

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Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Nutritional Science
  • Molecular Biology

Background:

  • Vitamin A's role in immunity has long been suspected but recently substantiated by molecular and clinical evidence.
  • The discovery of retinoic acid and retinoid X receptors provides a molecular mechanism for vitamin A's action on gene activation.
  • Vitamin A deficiency is an immunodeficiency disorder with broad impacts on immune function and mucosal integrity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the evidence supporting vitamin A's central role in immunity to infectious diseases.
  • To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying vitamin A's immune-enhancing effects.
  • To highlight the therapeutic potential of vitamin A and retinoids in managing infectious diseases.

Main Methods:

  • Review of epidemiological, immunologic, and molecular studies.
  • Analysis of data from clinical trials on vitamin A supplementation.
  • Examination of the effects of vitamin A and its metabolites on immune cells and gene expression.

Main Results:

  • Vitamin A supplementation reduces severe morbidity and mortality in children with measles and in vitamin A-deficient areas.
  • Vitamin A deficiency causes widespread immune alterations, including impaired antibody responses and altered lymphocyte function.
  • Vitamin A and its metabolites enhance antibody production, lymphocyte proliferation, inhibit apoptosis, and restore mucosal integrity.

Conclusions:

  • Vitamin A is essential for robust immune function and protection against infectious diseases.
  • Vitamin A supplementation is a proven intervention to reduce infectious disease burden in vulnerable children.
  • Vitamin A and related retinoids hold promise for therapeutic applications in infectious disease management.

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