Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Nov 06, 2024 1 month, 5 days, 15 hours, 59 minutes ago
Medical News: Vitamin D’s Role in Pregnancy
A recent study from researchers at the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán and the Instituto Nacional de Perinatología Isidro Espinosa de los Reyes in Mexico suggests that vitamin D, particularly in its active form as calcitriol, could help protect the placenta from inflammation caused by the COVID-19 virus. This study provides new insights into how vitamin D may help regulate placental health and prevent complications related to the virus. This
Medical News report highlights the key findings, underscoring how the research contributes to ongoing efforts to understand COVID-19’s impact on pregnant women.
Study finds that vitamin D shields placenta from COVID-19 inflammation
COVID-19 and the Placenta: How the Virus Interacts with Pregnancy
The COVID-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2, can be especially risky for pregnant women, increasing the chances of complications like hypertension and inflammation in the placenta. The spike protein on SARS-CoV-2 enables the virus to enter human cells by binding to a protein called ACE2, along with another protein known as TMPRSS2. Both proteins play a role in blood pressure regulation through what’s called the renin-angiotensin system (RAS). Since the placenta contains these proteins, it becomes vulnerable to viral attacks that can trigger inflammation.
Researchers aimed to explore how calcitriol might help mitigate this inflammation in placental cells. They used both a specific cell line and human syncytiotrophoblasts, which are specialized cells in the placenta, to observe how SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins affected inflammation. The study revealed that SARS-CoV-2 increased the production of proinflammatory cytokines - proteins that signal inflammation. Calcitriol, however, appeared to block this inflammatory response.
Key Findings: Calcitriol’s Impact on Placental Health
-Reduction of Inflammatory Proteins
The study found that when placental cells were exposed to SARS-CoV-2’s spike protein, they produced more inflammatory cytokines. Calcitriol significantly countered this effect, lowering cytokine levels and reducing inflammation within the placental cells. This is an important finding, as inflammation in the placenta can lead to pregnancy complications, including issues with blood flow to the fetus.
-Downregulation of ACE1, ACE2, TMPRSS2, and Renin Genes
A major discovery of the study was that calcitriol lowered the expression of genes related to ACE1, ACE2, TMPRSS2, and renin in placental cells. By reducing the presence of these proteins, which the virus needs to enter cells, calcitriol might make the placenta less susceptible to viral infection. Lowering ACE2 and TMPRSS2 can also contribute to a more balanced blood pressure environment, potentially benefiting both the mother and the fetus.
-Balanced ACE1/ACE2 mRNA Ratio
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Another effect of calcitriol was a decrease in the ACE1/ACE2 mRNA ratio within placental cells. A balanced ratio of these proteins is critical for maintaining a healthy blood pressure. In COVID-19 cases, an imbalance in this ratio can worsen inflammation and increase blood pressure, posing additional risks for pregnant women. Calcitriol’s ability to regulate this ratio could help prevent these complications.
Why These Findings Matter for Pregnant Women
This study shows that calcitriol can directly reduce inflammatory responses in the placenta, providing a potential defense against the harmful impacts of COVID-19. With the placenta being responsible for nutrient exchange and fetal protection, ensuring its health is essential. The anti-inflammatory role of calcitriol may also contribute to maintaining a stable blood pressure in pregnant women, lowering the risk of hypertension-related issues.
COVID-19’s interaction with the RAS in pregnant women highlights a specific vulnerability during pregnancy, and calcitriol’s effects on RAS-related genes show promise for mitigating these risks. Additionally, this research supports the broader benefits of vitamin D, which has been shown in previous studies to help with immunity and inflammation reduction.
Conclusions and Future Implications
The findings of this study suggest that calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D, has a dual role in pregnancy during COVID-19. It reduces SARS-CoV-2 spike protein-induced inflammation in placental cells and downregulates critical genes related to blood pressure regulation, providing a protective effect. These results indicate that vitamin D could be a valuable supplement for pregnant women to support placental health and reduce the risk of severe outcomes if infected with COVID-19. However, further studies are needed to determine the optimal levels of vitamin D supplementation and to fully understand its effects on maternal and fetal health.
The study findings were published in the peer-reviewed The Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960076024001730
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https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/american-study-discovers-that-sars-cov-2-infections-impairs-antiviral-innate-immune-gene-expression-in-the-placenta
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https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/pregnancy-and-covid-19-canadian-led-study-shows-that-maternal-immune-cells-transmits-sars-cov-2-to-the-placenta
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