Vitamin A is a powerful immunostimulant, yet may treat “autoimmune” conditions
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Another study that will probably rile up the anti-retinol crowd, but I would rather post it and have an open discussion then ignore it. It seems that not only is vitamin A crucial for increasing the number and functioning of so-called T-cells (and thus boosting immune function), but the humble vitamin is also a “space modulator” for immune cells – i.e. guiding the T-cells to the organs/tissues that most need such cells. This has implications not only for infectious diseases, but also for diseases such as cancer and even “autoimmune” conditions. It is now widely acknowledged even by mainstream medicine that immunodeficiency precedes cancer diagnosis and the degree of immunodeficiency can also predict whether a patient will survive the cancer. On a side, but related note, I posted several years ago about studies, which found that the age-related decline in immune function is the main driver of cancer, and that the decline is driven mainly by cortisol and estrogen (both of which reign largely unopposed in old age). Interestingly, another study found that inhibiting aromatase can reverse the decline of immune function even in old age. Conversely, immunostimulant drugs such as Opdivo/Nivolumab are now rapidly being repurposed for treating not only melanoma (for which it was originally developed) but for all other cancers as well.
https://lowtoxinforum.com/threads/estrogen-and-cortisol-not-androgens-suppress-immunity.31875/
Furthermore, virtually all “autoimmune” conditions are known to lead over time to something called “T-cell exhaustion” and that phase is believed to directly lead to cancer as a final stage of some such conditions. For example, while the inflammatory phase of something like ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn’s Disease (CD) is rather painful and debilitating, it is not the most dangerous aspect of the disease since the immune system is still doing its job. That is, mopping up cellular debris from damaged cells and mitochondria in the affected organ/tissue, with the debris being produced largely as a result of mitochondrial dysfunction. In other words, the idea that the immune system is “attacking” the organ/tissue is simply idiotic. However, over time the mitochondrial dysfunction causing the chronic inflammation and the immune response, probably envelops most organs/tissues and this leads to a deficiency of both number and function of T-cells as well. Once that happens, the metabolic phenotype of the damaged organ/tissue, which is indistinguishable from the one of “cancer” cells even during the “autoimmune” phase, can spread unopposed to neighboring cells/tissues and this is probably the moment when an official “cancer” diagnosis can be established. Interestingly enough, vitamin A deficiency is widespread in people with the autoimmune type of inflammatory bowel diseases mentioned above and supplementation with vitamin A has been found to be therapeutic in some studies. If those diseases were caused by an overactive immune system, an immunostimulant such as vitamin A should have made the conditions worse, yet the opposite was discovered. Once again, it seems the truth in medicine is about 180 degrees from what is being publicly preached.
Oh, and last but not least, vitamin A is a known anti-estrogen and glucocorticoid antagonist (may even be able to treat Cushing Disease). That ties in perfectly with its role as an immunostimulant, since if estrogen/cortisol are the primary causes of immunodeficiency (as mentioned above), then it makes perfect sense that a substance capable of opposing both estrogen and cortisol would improve immune function and have a broad protective effect against many conditions, especially cancer.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2024.09.015
“…In a groundbreaking study led by the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute), researchers have revealed that retinoic acid – a compound derived from vitamin A – plays a crucial role in guiding disease-fighting T cells to key organs such as the gut and liver, with exciting possibilities for future therapies. Most infections enter the body through barrier organs such as the skin, lungs and gut. A group of immune cells termed tissue-resident memory T (TRM) cells permanently live in these organs where they act as rapid first-responders to danger, such as infections and cancer. However, scientists are yet to elucidate how to make more TRM cells in a specific organ and what keeps them there. Led by the University of Melbourne’s Professor Laura Mackay, a Laboratory Head and Immunology Theme Lead at the Doherty Institute, the research team uncovered how retinoic acid, a molecule made from vitamin A that is commonly found in foods such as oily fish and eggs, alters the location and function of TRM cells. Notably, the researchers found that retinoic acid boosted TRM cells in the gut and helped them stay and survive there, suggesting that it could be used to improve long-term immunity within this tissue. First author of the study published recently in Immunity and PhD Candidate in the University of Melbourne’s Mackay lab at the Doherty Institute, Andreas Obers, explained how changes in retinoic acid levels affect TRM cell behaviour. “We found that retinoic acid was like a ‘molecular thermostat’ controlling the location of TRM cells in different organs. In our experiments, we observed that higher levels of retinoic acid would result in more TRM cells in the gut and liver. Conversely, we found that retinoic acid prevented the formation of TRM cells in the skin,” Mr Obers said. Dr Maximilien Evrard, an Australian Research Council DECRA Research Fellow at the Doherty Institute and co-senior author of the study, highlighted the role of retinoic acid, and vitamin A, in our immune system. “Interestingly, retinoic acid not only anchors TRM cells within tissues, but also limits their tendency to migrate away, particularly in the intestines. This may partly explain the weakened local immune defences in patients with vitamin A deficiency, a condition often associated with malnutrition in developing countries,” Dr Evrard said. “This exciting finding means we could ‘fine-tune’ where immune cells need to be in order to combat specific disease,” he added.”
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Interesting.About 350 000 children become blind each year because of Vitamin A deficiency, and about half of them die within the next Year. I wonder if the immun deficiency associtated with Vit.-A-deficiency has something to do with it.
Even just a mild Vit.-A deficiency increases mortality in children."Mild vitamin A deficiency was directly associated with at least 16% of all deaths in children aged from 1 to 6 years"
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0140673683906773
