Publications

Carsten Carlberg

Nutrigenomics in the context of evolution

Redox Biology Volume 62, June 2023, 102656

Nutrigenomics describes the interaction between nutrients and our genome. Since the origin of our species most of these nutrient-gene communication pathways have not changed. However, our genome experienced over the past 50,000 years a number of evolutionary pressures, which are based on the migration to new environments concerning geography and climate, the transition from hunter-gatherers to farmers including the zoonotic transfer of many pathogenic microbes and the rather recent change of societies to a preferentially sedentary lifestyle and the dominance of Western diet. Human populations responded to these challenges not only by specific anthropometric adaptations, such as skin color and body stature, but also through diversity in dietary intake and different resistance to complex diseases like the metabolic syndrome, cancer and immune disorders. The genetic basis of this adaptation process has been investigated by whole genome genotyping and sequencing including that of DNA extracted from ancient bones. In addition to genomic changes, also the programming of epigenomes in pre- and postnatal phases of life has an important contribution to the response to environmental changes. Thus, insight into the variation of our (epi)genome in the context of our individual’s risk for developing complex diseases, helps to understand the evolutionary basis how and why we become ill. This review will discuss the relation of diet, modern environment and our (epi)genome including aspects of redox biology. This has numerous implications for the interpretation of the risks for disease and their prevention.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.redox.2023.102656

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Paweł Płudowski, Beata Kos-Kudła, Mieczysław Walczak, Andrzej Fal, Dorota Zozulińska-Ziółkiewicz, Piotr Sieroszewski, Jarosław Peregud-Pogorzelski, Ryszard Lauterbach, Tomasz Targowski, Andrzej Lewiński, Robert Spaczyński, Mirosław Wielgoś, Jarosław Pinkas, Teresa Jackowska, Ewa Helwich, Artur Mazur, Marek Ruchała, Arkadiusz Zygmunt, Mieczysław Szalecki, Artur Bossowski, Justyna Czech-Kowalska, Marek Wójcik, Beata Pyrzak , Michał A. Zmijewski, Paweł Abramowicz, Jerzy Konstantynowicz, Ewa Marcinowska-Suchowierska, Andrius Bleizgys, Spirydon N. Karras, William B. Grant, Carsten Carlberg, Stefan Pilz, Michael F. Holick and Waldemar Misiorowski

Guidelines for Preventing and Treating Vitamin D Deficiency

Nutrients 2023, 15(3), 695;

All epidemiological studies suggest that vitamin D deficiency is prevalent among the Polish general population. Since vitamin D deficiency was shown to be among the risk factors for many diseases and for all-cause mortality, concern about this problem led us to update the previous Polish recommendations. Methods: After reviewing the epidemiological evidence, casecontrol studies and randomized control trials (RCTs), a Polish multidisciplinary group formulated questions on the recommendations for prophylaxis and treatment of vitamin D deficiency both for the general population and for the risk groups of patients. The scientific evidence of pleiotropic effects of vitamin D as well as the results of panelists’ voting were reviewed and discussed. Thirty-four authors representing different areas of expertise prepared position statements. The consensus group, representing eight Polish/international medical societies and eight national specialist consultants, prepared the final Polish recommendations. Results: Based on networking discussions, the ranges of total serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration indicating vitamin D deficiency [<20 ng/mL (<50 nmol/L)], suboptimal status [20–30 ng/mL (50–75 nmol/L)], and optimal concentration [30–50 ng/mL (75–125 nmol/L)] were confirmed. Practical guidelines for cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) as
the first choice for prophylaxis and treatment of vitamin D deficiency were developed. Calcifediol dosing as the second choice for preventing and treating vitamin D deficiency was introduced. Conclusions: Improving the vitamin D status of the general population and treatment of risk groups of patients must be again announced as healthcare policy to reduce a risk of spectrum of diseases. This paper offers consensus statements on prophylaxis and treatment strategies for vitamin D deficiency in Poland.

Guidelines for Preventing and Treating Vitamin D Deficiency [PDF]

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Carsten Carlberg

A Pleiotropic Nuclear Hormone Labelled Hundred Years Ago Vitamin D

Nutrients 2023, 15(1), 171;

This year we are celebrating 100 years of the naming of vitamin D, but the molecule is, in fact, more than one billion years old. 
At the beginning of the last century, small molecules were found to cure several diseases caused by nutritional deficiencies and were, therefore, termed vitamins. These diseases are xerophthalmia (a clinical spectrum ranging from night blindness to complete blindness), anemias, and neurological disorders, such as beriberi and scurvy (a disability affecting the repair of bone, skin, and connective tissue), which can be healed and prevented using the supplementation of vitamins A, B and C, respectively. Thus, when McCollum and colleagues demonstrated in 1922 that experimentally induced rickets in rats could be cured by a factor isolated from cod liver oil, they followed the nomenclature termed and named it vitamin D

A Pleiotropic Nuclear Hormone Labelled Hundred Years Ago Vitamin D [PDF]

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Shareefa A. AlGhamdi, Nusaibah N. Enaibsi, Hadeil M. Alsufiani,Huda F. Alshaibi,Sawsan O. Khoja and Carsten Carlberg

A Single Oral Vitamin D3 Bolus Reduces Inflammatory Markers in Healthy Saudi Males

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23(19)

Vitamin D deficiency has increased in the general population and is a public health issue. Vitamin D plays an important role in regulating the immune system, e.g., by modulating the production of inflammatory cytokines. In most countries, the recommended maximal daily dose of vitamin D₃ is 4000 IU (100 µg) per day. In this study, we investigated whether a single vitamin D₃ bolus can reduce the levels of the inflammatory markers interleukin (IL) 6, IL8 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) within one month. Fifty healthy Saudi males were recruited from the local community in Jeddah city and were orally supplemented with a single dose of 80,000 IU vitamin D₃. Serum samples were collected at time points 0, 1 and 30 days, and serum levels of IL6, IL8 and TNF, parathyroid hormone (PTH), 25-hydroxyvitamin D₃ (25(OH)D₃), triglycerides, cholesterol, calcium (Ca²⁺) and phosphate (PO₄₋) were determined. On average, the vitamin D₃ bolus resulted in a significant increase in vitamin D status as well as in a significant decrease in the levels of inflammatory cytokines even one month after supplementation without changing serum Ca²⁺, PO₄₋ or lipid levels. In conclusion, single high-dose vitamin D₃ supplementation is safe for reducing inflammation markers and may lead to an update of current recommendations for vitamin D intake, in order to prevent critical health problems.

A Single Oral Vitamin D3 Bolus Reduces Inflammatory Markers in Healthy Saudi Males [PDF]

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