Vitamin D3 helps improve cardiovascular health by balancing Nitric Oxide and Peroxynitrite.

What is it about?

This study is about the correlation of Vitamin D3 and its effect on the restoration of endothelial function suffered from damage in hypertension and diabetes. Our study shows that Vitamin D3 – which is made by the body naturally when skin is exposed to the sun – can significantly restore the damage to the cardiovascular system caused by several diseases, including hypertension, diabetes and atherosclerosis. Generally, Vitamin D3 is associated with the bones. However, in recent years, in clinical settings people recognize that many patients who have a heart attack will have a deficiency of D3. It doesn’t mean that the deficiency caused the heart attack, but it increased the risk of heart attack. We showed for the first time through use of nanosensors to see why Vitamin D3 can be beneficial, especially for the function and restoration of the cardiovascular system.

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Why is it important?

There is no direct method to detect in real-time release of nitric oxide and peroxynitrite in biological milieu. We have developed unique methods and systems of measurements using nanosensors, which are about 1,000 times smaller in diameter than a human hair, to track the impacts of Vitamin D3 on single endothelial cells, a vital regulatory component of the cardiovascular system. A major discovery from these studies is that vitamin D3 is a powerful stimulator of nitric oxide (NO), which is a major signaling molecule in the regulation of blood flow and the prevention of the formation of clots in the cardiovasculature. Additionally, vitamin D3 significantly reduced the level of oxidative stress in the cardiovascular system. This study is the first to identify the molecular mechanism of vitamin D3-triggered restoration of the function of damaged endothelium in the cardiovasculature.

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