Document Type
Article
Source of Publication
Scientific Reports
Publication Date
12-1-2022
Abstract
The ability of Vitamin D (VitD) to modulate antiviral responses through induction of antimicrobial peptide is well established. However, the effect of VitD on host responses to SARS-CoV-2 is not well investigated. We here report the ability of VitD to enhance host IFN-alpha/beta (a/β) signaling both in vitro and among severe COVID-19 patients treated with VitD. Blood and saliva specimens were obtained from severe COVID-19 patients treated (43 patients), or not (37 patients), with vitD, during their stay in intensive care unit. Patients were followed up to 29 days following admission, and patient survival outcomes were collected. Higher activity levels of RIG-1/MDA-5 and JAK-STAT signaling pathways were observed with significantly higher gene and protein levels of antiviral interferon stimulating genes (ISGs) such as MX-1 and ISG-15; both in vitro, following treatment of PBMCs with vitD, and in whole blood and saliva specimens of VitD treated patients. Moreover, VitD treated patients had lower risk of all-cause mortality by day 29 compared to untreated patients (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.37, 95% confidence interval of 0.14–0.94; P = 0.038). The herein uncovered regulatory role of VitD on type I IFNs suggests the importance of insuring a normal level of VitD for the prevention and probably treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Additional mechanistic studies, however, are needed to fully elucidate the antiviral effects of VitD particularly in the setting of COVID-19 infection.
DOI Link
ISSN
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Volume
12
Issue
1
Disciplines
Medicine and Health Sciences
Keywords
Vitamin D, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, blood and saliva specimens
Scopus ID
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Hafezi, Shirin; Saheb Sharif-Askari, Fatemeh; Saheb Sharif-Askari, Narjes; Ali Hussain Alsayed, Hawra; Alsafar, Habiba; Al Anouti, Fatme; Hamid, Qutayba; and Halwani, Rabih, "Vitamin D enhances type I IFN signaling in COVID-19 patients" (2022). All Works. 5441.
https://zuscholars.zu.ac.ae/works/5441
Indexed in Scopus
yes
Open Access
yes
Open Access Type
Gold: This publication is openly available in an open access journal/series