

Vitamin D found to influence 200 genes, interacts with DNA (Oxford) - adammichaelc
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100823172327.htm

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adammichaelc
A few highlights:

 _researchers at the University of Oxford have shown the extent to which
vitamin D interacts with our DNA. They used new DNA sequencing technology to
create a map of vitamin D receptor binding across the genome. The vitamin D
receptor is a protein activated by vitamin D, which attaches itself to DNA and
thus influences what proteins are made from our genetic code.

The researchers found 2,776 binding sites for the vitamin D receptor along the
length of the genome. These were unusually concentrated near a number of genes
associated with susceptibility to autoimmune conditions such as MS, Crohn's
disease, systemic lupus erythematosus (or 'lupus') and rheumatoid arthritis,
and to cancers such as chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and colorectal cancer.
They also showed that vitamin D had a significant effect on the activity of
229 genes including IRF8, previously associated with MS, and PTPN2, associated
with Crohn's disease and type 1 diabetes.

"Our study shows quite dramatically the wide-ranging influence that vitamin D
exerts over our health," says Dr Andreas Heger from the MRC Functional
Genomics Unit at Oxford, one of the lead authors of the study._

