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Site of 1,25(OH)2 vitamin D3 synthesis in the kidney

Nature volume 276, pages 287–289 (1978)Cite this article

An Erratum to this article was published on 30 November 1978

Abstract

FRASER AND KODICEK1 have reported, and others hae confirmed2–4, that the kidney is the exclusive site of synthesis of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25(OH)2D3). The 1-α-hydroxylation of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OH-D3) occurs in mitochondria1,4,5 and is influenced by cytosol6,7, although conflicting data have been reported8. Preparations of whole tubules from the cortex possess 1-α-hydroxylase activity10 but the precise localisation of the enzyme along the nephron is not known. In the dog, no evidence of 1-α-hydroxylase was found in medulla, enzymatic activity being observed only in cortical preparations5. In mice given systemic injections of 3H-vitamin D3 autoradiography shows the tracer to be present in the proximal tubules9. However, whether hydroxylation occurred at this site was not established. Using single nephron preparations, we have now demonstrated that the major and probably exclusive site of synthesis of 1,25(OH)2D3 is the proximal tubule.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Maisonneuve Hospital, University of Montreal, School of Medicine, Montreal, H1T 2M4, Canada

    MICHELE G. BRUNETTE, MEANTHAN CHAN, CHRISTINE FERRIERE & KENNETH D. ROBERTS

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  1. MICHELE G. BRUNETTE
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  3. CHRISTINE FERRIERE
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  4. KENNETH D. ROBERTS
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BRUNETTE, M., CHAN, M., FERRIERE, C. et al. Site of 1,25(OH)2 vitamin D3 synthesis in the kidney. Nature 276, 287–289 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/276287a0

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