COVID-19: the heart and other issues

Abstract

BackgroundVitamin D is a micronutrient which is essential to help maintain bone and musculoskeletal health 1 . However, recent research has highlighted a crucial supportive role for vitamin D in immune cell function, particularly in modulating the inflammatory response to viral infection 2,3 . At a cellular level, vitamin D modulates both the adaptive and innate immune system through cytokines and regulation of cell signalling pathways 4 . Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is present on both T and B immune cells; Vitamin D modulates the proliferation, inhibition and differentiation of these cells 5 . In experimental models of lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation, vitamin D is associated with lower concentrations of the pro-inflammatory cytokine Interleukin-6 (IL-6) 6 , which plays a significant role in Covid-19 induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) 7 . Vitamin D also reduces lipolysaccharide-induced lung injury in mice by blocking