Publications by authors named "Katharina Philomena Maurer"
Article Synopsis
- Vitamin D supplementation can help the immune system fight various viruses, but the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has developed a resistance mechanism by downregulating the vitamin-D receptor (VDR).
- This study discovered that HCMV infects cells and decreases VDR levels within hours, largely due to the transcriptional repressor Snail1, which inhibits VDR at the gene level.
- Despite the resistance, treatment with antimicrobial peptides that vitamin D induces, like LL-37, was effective in reducing HCMV levels in infected cells, suggesting potential antiviral treatments for individuals lacking vitamin D.
