Laboratory of Neuropathology, 'Città Studi' Department, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
J Neurochem. 2009 Dec;111(6):1309-26. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2009.06417.x. Epub 2009 Oct 3.
There is a growing awareness that natural vitamins (with the only exception of pantothenic acid) positively or negatively modulate the synthesis of some cytokines and growth factors in the CNS, and various mammalian cells and organs. As natural vitamins are micronutrients in the human diet, studying their effects can be considered a part of nutritional genomics or nutrigenomics. A given vitamin selectively modifies the synthesis of only a few cytokines and/or growth factors, although the same cytokine and/or growth factor may be regulated by more than one vitamin. These effects seem to be independent of the effects of vitamins as coenzymes and/or reducing agents, and seem to occur mainly at genomic and/or epigenetic level, and/or by modulating NF-kappaB activity. Although most of the studies reviewed here have been based on cultured cell lines, but their findings have been confirmed by some key in vivo studies. The CNS seems to be particularly involved and is severely affected by most avitaminoses, especially in the case of vitamin B(12). However, the vitamin-induced changes in cytokine and growth factor synthesis may initiate a cascade of events that can affect the function, differentiation, and morphology of the cells and/or structures not only in the CNS, but also elsewhere because most natural vitamins, cytokines, and growth factors cross the blood-brain barrier. As cytokines are essential to CNS-immune and CNS-hormone system communications, natural vitamins also interact with these circuits. Further studies of such vitamin-mediated effects could lead to vitamins being used for the treatment of diseases which, although not true avitaminoses, involve an imbalance in cytokine and/or growth factor synthesis.
人们越来越意识到，天然维生素（仅泛酸例外）会积极或消极地调节 CNS 以及各种哺乳动物细胞和器官中某些细胞因子和生长因子的合成。由于天然维生素是人类饮食中的微量营养素，因此研究它们的作用可以被视为营养基因组学或营养遗传学的一部分。某种维生素会选择性地调节少数几种细胞因子和/或生长因子的合成，尽管同一种细胞因子和/或生长因子可能受到不止一种维生素的调节。这些作用似乎与维生素作为辅酶和/或还原剂的作用无关，主要发生在基因组和/或表观遗传水平，并通过调节 NF-κB 活性来实现。尽管这里综述的大多数研究都是基于培养的细胞系进行的，但它们的发现已经被一些关键的体内研究所证实。CNS 似乎特别受到影响，并且大多数维生素缺乏症都会严重影响 CNS，尤其是维生素 B(12)缺乏症。然而，维生素诱导的细胞因子和生长因子合成变化可能引发一系列事件，不仅会影响 CNS 中的细胞和/或结构的功能、分化和形态，还会影响其他部位，因为大多数天然维生素、细胞因子和生长因子都可以穿过血脑屏障。由于细胞因子是 CNS-免疫和 CNS-激素系统通讯所必需的，天然维生素也与这些回路相互作用。对这种维生素介导的作用的进一步研究可能会导致维生素被用于治疗某些疾病，尽管这些疾病不是真正的维生素缺乏症，但涉及细胞因子和/或生长因子合成的失衡。
