Abstract
The nuclear receptor is an emerging therapeutic target in various human diseases. Vitamin D receptor (VDR), a nuclear receptor, mediates the biological functions of vitamin D. Classically, vitamin D is recognized as an essential contributor to mineral and bone homeostasis. Increasing evidence demonstrates that vitamin D is involved in inflammatory responses. Persistent intestinal inflammation is associated with colon cancer. This review focuses on vitamin D and VDR in inflammatory bowel diseases and colon cancer. We place emphasis on the regulatory roles of vitamin D/VDR in inflammation, enteric bacteria, and tumorigenesis. We summarize the signaling pathways regulated by VDR in intestinal homeosta-sis. Finally, we discuss the potential application of the insights gleaned from these findings to personalized therapies in chronic inflammation and colon cancer.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 57-65 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Current Colorectal Cancer Reports |
| Volume | 8 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 2012 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (DK075386-0251, R03DK089010-01), the American Cancer Society (RSG-09-075-01-MBC), and the IDEAL award from Empire State Stem Cell Board (N09G-279) to Jun Sun.
Keywords
- Colon cancer
- Enteric bacteria
- Gut flora
- IBD
- Inflammation
- Microbiome
- Molecular epidemiology
- Nuclear receptor
- Vitamin D
- Vitamin D receptor
