Vitamin D deficiency-induced muscle wasting occurs through the ubiquitin proteasome pathway and is partially corrected by calcium in male rats.

Vitamin D deficiency leads to muscle wasting in both animals and humans. A vitamin D-deficient rat model was created using Sprague Dawley male rats. We studied the involvement of the ubiquitin proteasome and other proteolytic pathways in vitamin D deficiency-induced muscle atrophy.