Hewison · Endocrinology and metabolism clinics of North America 2010 · narrative review · n=?

Vitamin D and the immune system: new perspectives on an old theme.

Cited 525 times in the scientific literature.

Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data

Narrative review synthesizing mechanistic pathways and expert perspective without original data or systematic review methods

PubMed 20511058 · doi:10.1016/j.ecl.2010.02.010 · record verified 2026-08-30

What was done

This is a narrative review summarizing literature on the interaction between vitamin D and the immune system, specifically the local autocrine and paracrine conversion of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 to active 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 in innate and adaptive immune responses.

What was found

The abstract reports no numerical data or quantitative outcomes. It describes that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 contributes to normal innate and adaptive immune function and that deficiency in vitamin D status may impair response to infection or predispose to autoimmunity.

Why it matters

It highlights that immune effects of vitamin D rely on localized tissue synthesis rather than solely endocrine actions, linking widespread vitamin D insufficiency to potential immune dysfunction.

Limits

This is a narrative review with no original clinical data, predefined search methodology, or quantitative synthesis reported in the abstract. No sample size is applicable.

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