Autumn is coming and the months in which we are exposed to the sun’s rays for less time and, with this, we obtain less intake of vitamin D, which is crucial for the health of our bones, strengthening our mood and reducing the risk of depression. or promote muscle function.
In addition, vitamin D is known to be an essential component to strengthen the immune system, protecting against infections and autoimmune diseases. Now, a study from McGill University (Canada) published in the journal ‘Science Advances’ explains why vitamin D deficiency early in life is associated with an increased risk of autoimmune diseases.
During childhood, the thymus helps train immune cells to distinguish between the body’s own tissues and harmful invaders. A vitamin D deficiency at that stage of life causes the thymus to age more quickly, the researchers found.
“Aging of the thymus leads to a ‘leaky’ immune system,” said senior author John White, professor and chair of the Department of Physiology at McGill. «This means that the thymus becomes less effective at filtering out immune cells that could mistakenly attack healthy tissues, increasing the risk of autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes.».
It has been known for years that vitamin D helps the body absorb calcium for strong bones, and more recent research has discovered its crucial role in regulating the immune system.
Although the research was conducted with mice, the findings are relevant to human health because the thymus functions similarly in both species, White added.
Lack of sun
This data is based on a 2001 Finnish study, which followed more than 10,000 children, which concluded that children who received vitamin D supplements early in life had up to five times less risk of developing type 1 diabetes in the future.
Finland, with its long winter periods of vitamin D, served as an ideal case study to learn more about the many functions of this nutrient, White said.
In the McGill study, researchers used mice that couldn’t produce vitamin D to examine how the deficiency affected the thymus, using cell analysis and genetic sequencing to see how it impacts the immune system.
In future studies, White hopes to explore how vitamin D affects the human thymus, something he notes has not been done before.
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