clipped from VITAMINS FOR THE BLADDER Livestrong June 2010
Vitamin D is effective for treating bladder infections and maintaining bladder health, according to a study by Intercept Pharmaceuticals. In the study, vitamin D receptors treated benign prostatic hyperplasia, a syndrome that causes prostate overgrowth, urinary imitative symptoms and inflammation. Vitamin D effectively targets the pathway in bladder cells to reduce inflammation, build cell walls, and protect against bacteria and infection. Intercept Pharmaceuticals
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Vitamin D Induction of the Human Antimicrobial Peptide Cathelicidin in the Urinary Bladder
PLOS One Dec 2010
Olof Hertting1,2, Åsa Holm1, Petra Lüthje1, Hanna Brauner3, Robert Dyrdak1, Aino Fianu Jonasson4, Peter Wiklund5, Milan Chromek1,2, Annelie Brauner1*
1 Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Division of Clinical Microbiology, Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden,
2 Astrid Lindgrens Childrens Hospital, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden,
3 Department of Microbiology, Tumor and Cell Biology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden,
4 Department of Clinical Science, Unit of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden,
5 Department of Urology, Division of Surgery, Karolinska Institutet and Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
The urinary tract is frequently being exposed to potential pathogens and rapid defence mechanisms are therefore needed. Cathelicidin, a human antimicrobial peptide is expressed and secreted by bladder epithelial cells and protects the urinary tract from infection. Here we show that vitamin D can induce cathelicidin in the urinary bladder. We analyzed bladder tissue from postmenopausal women for expression of cathelicidin, before and after a three-month period of supplementation with 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25D3). Cell culture experiments were performed to elucidate the mechanisms for cathelicidin induction. We observed that, vitamin D per se did not up-regulate cathelicidin in serum or in bladder tissue of the women in this study. However, when the bladder biopsies were infected with uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC), a significant increase in cathelicidin expression was observed after 25D3 supplementation. This observation was confirmed in human bladder cell lines, even though here, cathelicidin induction occurred irrespectively of infection. Vitamin D treated bladder cells exerted an increased antibacterial effect against UPEC and colocalization to cathelicidin indicated the relevance of this peptide.
In the light of the rapidly growing problem of resistance to common urinary tract antibiotics, we suggest that vitamin D may be a potential complement in the prevention of UTI.
Citation: Hertting O, Holm Å, Lüthje P, Brauner H, Dyrdak R, et al. (2010) Vitamin D Induction of the Human Antimicrobial Peptide Cathelicidin in the Urinary Bladder. PLoS ONE 5(12): e15580. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0015580
Received: October 20, 2010; Accepted: November 12, 2010; Published: December 14, 2010
Reported by Natural News - Feb 2011
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“Vitamin D, it turns out, is necessary for the production of anti-microbial peptides, substances that fight off infection-causing bacteria, fungi, and viruses when these pathogens try to move into organs and through mucous membranes.”
Quote from paper
''In the light of the rapidly growing problem of resistance to common urinary tract antibiotics, we suggest that vitamin D may be a potential complement in the prevention of UTI.
Determining the vitamin D status of individuals with a history of UTI may be of importance to evaluate their ability to fend off intruding bacteria.''
See also Vitamin D Life
- Overview Women and Vitamin D
- UTI associated with low Vitamin D, treated by Vit. D, many UTI now resistant to antibiotics
- Male urinary track infection 23 percent more likely if low vitamin D when obese or diabetic– Dec 2012
- Recurrent urinary tract infection 4X more likely if low vitamin D – Aug 2013
- Urgent need to pee (Overactive Bladder) in elderly men was decreased by 200,000 IU Vitamin D injection – May 2018