New Roles for Vitamin D Superagonists

David J Easty, Christine J Farr, Bryan T Hennessy

OAI: oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/321626 • DOI: 10.17863/CAM.68744

Vitamin D is a potent steroid hormone that induces widespread changes in gene expression and controls key biological pathways. Here we review pathophysiology of vitamin D with particular reference to COVID-19 and pancreatic cancer. Utility as a therapeutic agent is limited by hypercalcemic effects and attempts to circumvent this problem have used vitamin D superagonists, with increased efficacy and reduced calcemic effect. A further caveat is that vitamin D mediates multiple diverse effects. Some of these (anti-fibrosis) are likely beneficial in patients with COVID-19 and pancreatic cancer, whereas others (reduced immunity), may be beneficial through attenuation of the cytokine storm in patients with advanced COVID-19, but detrimental in pancreatic cancer. Vitamin D superagonists represent an untapped resource for development of effective therapeutic agents. However, to be successful this approach will require agonists with high cell-tissue specificity.

covid-19 pancreatic cancer pancreatic stellate cell paricalcitol superagonist vitamin D Carcinoma Pancreatic Ductal cytokine release syndrome Humans Pancreatic Neoplasms vitamin D Vitamins COVID-19 Drug Treatment