Immunomodulatory effect of vitamin D supplementation on Behçet’s disease patients: effect on nitric oxide and Th17/Treg cytokines production

Abstract

Introduction

In the last decade, an immuno-modulatory effect of vitamin D supplementation have emerged as a potential therapeutic approach for some inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. As previously reported, vitamin D deficiency was strongly linked to several diseases as Behçet’s disease (BD). BD is a chronic systemic inflammatory disorder with autoimmunity, genetic and environmental factors involvement. The aim of our current study is to set up a new therapeutic strategy in BD, combining conventional therapy and vitamin D supplementation.

Materials and Methods

Blood samples were collected from active and inactive BD patients and healthy controls (HC) to evaluate 25(OH) vitamin D levels using an electrochemiluminescence method. All deficient and insufficient vitamin D BD patients’ were supplemented with vitamin D3 (CHOLECALCIFEROL, 200 000 UI/1 ml). In this context, NO, IL-17A and IL-10 levels were evaluated in patients and HC in vivo and ex vivo using Griess and ELISA methods respectively.

Results

Before supplementation, we noted with interest that BD patients had vitamin D deficiency, associated with elevated in vivo and ex vivo NO and IL-17A levels compared to HC. Conversely, low IL-10 levels were observed in the same BD patients in comparison to HC. Interestingly, restored vitamin D status in supplemented BD patients was related to the decreased NO levels. In the same way, the IL-10/IL-17A ratio was improved.

Conclusions

Collectively, our data suggest that vitamin D supplementation in combination with conventional treatments has a beneficial effect and could constitute a good therapeutic candidate for alleviating inflammatory responses during Behçet disease.

Keywords:

• Behçet’s disease
• vitamin D supplementation
• nitric oxide
• Th17/treg
• immuno-modulation

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Mr Hamdaoui Mourad, Dr Medjeber Oussama, Pr Raache Rachida and Pr St-Onge Christina for her technical assistance. They also thank Mr Djeraba Kheireddine for language support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the thematic research agency in development health sciences ATRSS (ex ANDRS) ‘Project No. 05/DSPR/ATRSS/2019.’