Effect of Dietary Vitamin D₃ on T Helper-Related Activities of Lupus-Prompt New Zealand Black/New Zealand White F1 Mice

We investigated the effect of dietary vitamin D₃ on T helper-related activities and progress of lupus in NZB/NZW F1 mice. Mice were fed with 0.4 or 2 μg vitamin D₃ dissolved in 50 μL olive oil every other day. Expression of T cell-related cytokine genes including those of IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IL-12 and IFN-γ was monitored during the disease course by semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In addition, total serum IgG1 and IgG2a and anti-dsDNA antibody were measured. We observed a prolonged survival of mice receiving 2μg of vitamin D₃ as compared with control mice. However, vitamin D₃ did not significantly affect the anti-DNA antibody formation, IgG subtype proportion, or cytokine expression profile.