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Minerals, trace elements, Vit. D and bone health

Effect of vitamin D supplementation of low birth weight term Indian infants from birth on cytokine production at 6 months

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 66, pages 746–750 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES:

Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with impaired resistance to infection, which may be mediated by alterations in cytokine responses. We investigated the effect of vitamin D supplementation to infants on whole blood in-vitro cytokine production and on the inflammatory marker, plasma C-reactive protein (CRP).

SUBJECTS/METHODS:

Blood samples were taken at 6 months of age from infants participating in the DIVIDS (Delhi Infant Vitamin D Supplementation) randomized controlled trial of weekly vitamin D supplements (1400 IU=recommended intake) from birth to 6 months with the aim of decreasing mortality and severe morbidity. We measured plasma CRP and whole blood in-vitro production of tumour necrosis factor-α (TNFα), interferon-γ (INFγ), interleukin (IL)-10 and IL-13 following no stimulation or stimulation with lipopolysaccharide or phytohemagglutinin.

RESULTS:

Although the intervention improved vitamin D status in a severely deficient population, there were no differences between treatment groups in plasma CRP or in the production of any of the cytokines in either unstimulated or stimulated cultures. Recent illness had limited association with immunological markers. Plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were not associated with CRP or production of any cytokines.

CONCLUSIONS:

Vitamin D supplementation did not affect plasma CRP or whole blood cytokine production of vitamin D-deficient low birth weight infants. This is consistent with the lack of effect of vitamin D on mortality and severe morbidity among infants in the DIVIDS trial.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the infants and their families for their participation in the DIVIDS study and the field staff—Praveen, Aparna, Bunty, Sanjeev and Dinesh—for their work. We are grateful to Dr RN Salhan of Safdarjung Hospital and to the Data Safety and Monitoring Board—Dr Siddharth Ramji, Dr Shinjini Bhatnagar and Professor RM Pandey—for their help with the trial. We also extend our gratitude to Dr Ann Prentice and her team for helping set up the vitamin D assay in our laboratory, and to Dr Andrea Rehman and Dr Daniela Manno, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, for input into statistical analyses. We thank Dr Rajni Rani at National Institute of Immunology for advise on cytokine assays. We thank the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India; Nutrition Third World; and Sight and Life for funding the study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Home Economics, Delhi University, New Delhi, India

    G Trilok-Kumar, M Rajput, V Singh & S Aggarwal

  2. Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Noida, India

    H Arora & N Srivastava

  3. Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, India

    H Chellani & S Arya

  4. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK

    J Raynes & S Filteau

  5. Sitaram Bhartia Institute of Science and Research, New Delhi, India

    H P S Sachdev

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  1. G Trilok-Kumar
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  10. H P S Sachdev
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Correspondence to G Trilok-Kumar.

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Trilok-Kumar, G., Arora, H., Rajput, M. et al. Effect of vitamin D supplementation of low birth weight term Indian infants from birth on cytokine production at 6 months. Eur J Clin Nutr 66, 746–750 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2012.33

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