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Clinical nutrition

Effects of vitamin D supplements on frequency of CD4+ T-cell subsets in women with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis: a double-blind placebo-controlled study

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 73, pages 1236–1243 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background

Vitamin D is a modulator of immune functions. Investigations on the mechanisms of vitamin D action and pathogenesis of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) have revealed that vitamin D can reduce damages to thyroid cells caused by autoreactive immune cells.

Methods

Totally, 48 female patients with HT disease were introduced to the study by endocrinologists. Patients were divided into two major groups of 24 individuals and treated weekly with 50,000 IU of cholecalciferol (vitamin D group) or placebo (placebo group) using oral administration for 3 months. Eventually, 17 of the 24 patients in each group finished the study. Before and after supplementation, frequencies of Th1, Th17, Th2 and Tr1 cells and mean fluorescent intensity (MFI) of the associated cytokines, including IFN-γ, IL-17, IL-4 and IL-10, were assessed using flow cytometry. Furthermore, gene expression of IL-10 was assessed using real-time PCR.

Results

Results of this study showed that cholecalciferol supplementation caused a significant decrease in Th17/Tr1 ratio. The proportion and MFI of Th1, Th2, Tr1 and Th17 cells included no significant changes in vitamin D group, compared to those in placebo group. Expression rate and MFI of IL-10 increased in both groups. This increase was higher in vitamin D group than placebo group with no significance.

Conclusions

In this novel preliminary clinical trial study, supplementation with cholecalciferol in HT patients for 3 months changed the balance of CD4+ T-cell subsets to improve the disease control. However, further studies are necessary to investigate effects of vitamin D on immune functions in HT patients.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, and Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran, for providing the facilities and funds via grant number 95-01-27-30905. The authors also wish to thank Ms. Salehi for her helpful comments and discussions and Mr. Ghanavati for his assistance in FACS analysis.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

    Masoumeh Nodehi, Abolghasem Ajami & Hossein Asgarian Omran

  2. Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Maryam Izad

  3. MS Research Center, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Maryam Izad

  4. Endocrine Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Reza Chahardoli, Atieh Amouzegar & Fereydoon Azizi

  5. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Saeed Yekaninejad

  6. Department of Endocrinology, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Mahbobeh Hemmatabadi & Fatemeh Esfahanian

  7. Department of Immunology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Fatemeh Mansouri & Ali Akbar Saboor-Yaraghi

  8. Division of Food Microbiology, Department of Pathobiology, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Ramin Mazaheri Nezhad Fard

  9. Food Microbiology Research Center, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

    Ramin Mazaheri Nezhad Fard

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  1. Masoumeh Nodehi
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Correspondence to Ali Akbar Saboor-Yaraghi.

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Conflict of interest

This study was financially supported by grant no. 95-01-27-30905 from Research Administration Department, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran and grant no. 2353 from Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran.

Ethical approval

The current study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (approval no. IRCT2016110130644N1).

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Written informed consents were signed by all the patients.

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Nodehi, M., Ajami, A., Izad, M. et al. Effects of vitamin D supplements on frequency of CD4+ T-cell subsets in women with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis: a double-blind placebo-controlled study. Eur J Clin Nutr 73, 1236–1243 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-019-0395-z

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