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Intestinal Regulation of Calcium: Vitamin D and Bone Physiology

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Understanding the Gut-Bone Signaling Axis

Part of the book series: Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology ((AEMB,volume 1033))

Abstract

The principal function of vitamin D in the maintenance of calcium homeostasis is to increase intestinal calcium absorption. This conclusion was made from studies in vitamin D receptor (VDR) null mice which showed that rickets and osteomalacia were prevented when VDR null mice were fed a rescue diet that included high calcium, indicating that the skeletal abnormalities of the VDR null mice are primarily the result of impaired intestinal calcium absorption. Although vitamin D is critical for controlling intestinal calcium absorption, the mechanisms involved have remained incomplete. This chapter reviews studies, including studies in genetically modified mice, that have provided new insight and have challenged the traditional model of VDR-mediated calcium absorption.

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Acknowledgements

SC receives funding from the National Institutes of Health grants AG044552, DK112365 and AI121621.

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The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers the State University of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Ave, Newark, NJ, 07103, USA

    Sylvia Christakos, Vaishali Veldurthy, Nishant Patel & Ran Wei

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  1. Sylvia Christakos
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  2. Vaishali Veldurthy
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  3. Nishant Patel
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  4. Ran Wei
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sylvia Christakos .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physiology and Department of Radiology Biomedical Imaging Research Centre, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

    Laura R. McCabe

  2. Comparative Medicine and Integrative Biology Program, East Lansing, Michigan, USA

    Narayanan Parameswaran

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Christakos, S., Veldurthy, V., Patel, N., Wei, R. (2017). Intestinal Regulation of Calcium: Vitamin D and Bone Physiology. In: McCabe, L., Parameswaran, N. (eds) Understanding the Gut-Bone Signaling Axis. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1033. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-66653-2_1

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