Restorative Action of Vitamin D3 on Motor Dysfunction Through Enhancement of Neurotrophins and Antioxidant Expression in the Striatum

An opinion on the debatable function of brain resident immune protein, T-cell receptor beta subunit in the central nervous system

“…Huntington’s disease (HD) is an autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disorder which results in massive death of neurons in the striatum ( Gil and Rego, 2008 ). We speculate that there are a number of diverse contributors towards selective loss of striatal neurons as observed in HD ( Manjari et al 2022 ). The wild type huntingtin protein (wHTT) at synapses gets replaced by the mutant huntingtin protein (mHTT) which causes major synaptic dysfunction ( Barron et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Interestingly, our lab has found that the gene expression of TCR-β subunit receptor was significantly enhanced in two vital brain regions, namely the cortex and the striatum, in an experimental mouse model of HD (unpublished data). These two brain areas are known to be most vulnerable in undergoing neurodegeneration in HD ( Blumenstock and Dudanova, 2020 , Lewitus et al, 2014 , Manjari et al, 2022 ). It may be hypothesized that high neuronal expression of TCR-β expression on medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and cortical neurons might increase the likelihood to undergo neuronal atrophy in HD.…”

Vitamin D and the Central Nervous System: Causative and Preventative Mechanisms in Brain Disorders

“…In summarising this data, 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 increases , and the developmental dietary absence of vitamin D reduces the expression of these crucial neurotrophic factors in neurons [ 73 ] and glia in developing and adult brains. Vitamin D’s regulation of neurotrophic factors remains a central feature in brain ontogeny.…”

Unprecedented effect of vitamin D3 on T-cell receptor beta subunit and alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor expression in a 3-nitropropionic acid induced mouse model of Huntington’s disease

“…In the present study, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to study the expression of respective genes. Male C57BL/6 mice (8–12 weeks) were divided into four groups namely, Group I: Control (saline); Group II: 3-NP induction via i.p (HD); Group III : Vitamin D3 (VD) and Group IV: (HD + VD) ( Manjari et al, 2022 ).…”

“…3-NP injections in rodents have also been shown to cause neuroinflammation and neurochemical alteration due to increased oxidative stress ( Ahuja et al, 2008 ). In this regard, an antioxidant effect of Vitamin D3 (VD; cholecalciferol) at a dose of 500IU/kg/day was recently shown to significantly rescue motor dysfunction in a 3-NP induced mouse model of HD ( Manjari et al, 2022 ). VD administration also caused an enhancement in the gene expression of neurotrophins like nerve-growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the striatum ( Manjari et al, 2022 ).…”