The influence of vitamin D on human health is strongly associated with tolerogenic immune function, skewing the immune response toward a regulatory phenotype. Ecological and epidemiological studies have resulted in a proposed link between reduced levels of the most abundant circulating form of vitamin D, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), and the development of food allergy in children. We have also shown that infants with vitamin D insufficiency (≤ 50nmol/L) were 11 times more likely to have a peanut allergy and 3 times more likely to have an egg allergy relative to infants with sufficient vitamin D levels. Interestingly, in the same cohort, 25(OH)D levels positively correlated with tolerogenic immune responses in 4-year-old children who had naturally outgrown their food allergy. There is no single accepted mechanism for the proposed association between vitamin D insufficiency and food allergy. Rather, a combination of several mechanisms is hypothesized to be involved, including the potential to modulate immune cell proportions or function, including that of regulatory T cells..This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Vitamin D insufficiency is associated with reduced regulatory T cell frequency in food-allergic infants.
