The study was carried out to define whether prednisolone-induced damage to hepatic cells is accompanied by excessive nitric oxide (NO) levels associated with nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB)/inducible NO synthase (iNOS) activation and evaluate the efficacy of the treatment with vitamin D. Histopathological examination, activities of liver transaminases (alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase), and cell death assays consistently showed that prednisolone (5 mg/kg body weight, 30 days) induces chronic liver injury in female Wistar rats. Specifically, increased hepatocellular necrosis and caspase-3-dependent apoptosis were observed. Prednisolone enhanced iNOS protein expression, NO generation, and tyrosine nitration in liver cells. Despite unchanged hepatic level of the NF-κB/p65 protein, prednisolone increased inhibitory κB-α (IκB-α) degradation, nuclear translocation, and phosphorylation of NF-κB/p65 at Ser311, indicating that NF-κB activation can be involved in the induction of iNOS/NO. All changes were associated with a 2.9-fold decrease in the serum content of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and significant reduction of hepatic vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression that points reliably to vitamin D deficiency and failures in VDR signaling. Vitamin D co-administration (100 IU/rat, 30 days) prevented glucocorticoid-evoked abnormalities in hepatic tissue. In conclusion, prednisolone-induced liver disturbances were associated with the impairment of NF-κB/iNOS/NO responses that can be ameliorated by vitamin D treatment through VDR-mediated mechanisms.

The effectiveness of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) in counteracting the side effects of glucocorticoid (GC) therapy has been demonstrated previously. Abnormalities in systemic hormonal and local (cytokine) regulation of bone marrow (BM) cells may underlie GC-induced imbalance between osteosynthesis and bone resorption. The cytokine system receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B (RANK)/RANK ligand (RANKL)/osteoprotegerin (OPG) is considered as an integrating link in the NF-κB-mediated interaction of various cells involved in maintaining osteoblastic-osteoclastic balance, which makes it a pharmacological target for regulation and correction of the bone remodeling process. We studied GC-induced impairments of the RANKL/RANK/OPG axis in BM cells depending on vitamin D bioavailability and whether these changes were mediated by glucocorticoid (GR) and/or vitamin D (VDR) receptors. Female Wistar rats administered with prednisolone (5 mg/kg b.w., 30 days) showed a decrease in the GR protein level and the number of GR-positive BM cells. GC caused a marked elevation of RANKL and RANK levels in BM, while OPG decreased. Flow cytometry data indicated GC-elicited increase in the number of circulating RANK-positive osteoclast precursors (OCPs) in BM, peripheral blood, and spleen. In full accordance with the data that the interaction of RANKL-RANK leads to transcriptional activation of NF-κB and subsequent differentiation of osteoclasts, we found an increase in the level of phosphorylated p65 subunit of NF-κB with a simultaneous decrease in the NF-κB inhibitor (IκB) level. These changes were accompanied by vitamin D insufficiency and downregulated expression of CYP27B1 and VDR, which are responsible for synthesis and hormonal signaling of 1,25(OH)2D. Notably, we observed VDR and RANK co-localization in OCPs. Cholecalciferol co-administration (1,000 IU/kg b.w., 30 days) with prednisolone resulted in elevated GR synthesis in BM. Cholecalciferol prevented prednisolone-elicited disturbances of the RANKL/RANK/OPG, which correlated with improved bioavailability and vitamin D signaling through VDR. This caused the lowering of phosphoNF-κB p65 level and inhibiting NF-κB translocation to the nucleus that could reduce the circulating OCPs pool in BM, peripheral blood, and spleen. Our findings suggest that prednisolone-induced abnormalities in GR and RANKL/RANK/OPG signaling pathways are associated with the impairments of vitamin D auto/paracrine system in BM cells and can be ameliorated by cholecalciferol supplementation.

Objectives Recent prospective studies have found the associations between type 1 diabetes (T1D) and vitamin D deficiency. We investigated the role of vitamin D in the regulation of 25OHD-1α-hydroxylase (CYP27B1) and VDR expression in different tissues of T1D rats. Design T1D was induced in male Wistar rats by streptozotocin (55 mg/k b.w.). After 2 weeks of T1D, the animals were treated orally with or without vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol; 100 IU/rat, 30 days). Methods Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) was detected by ELISA. CYP27A1, CYP2R1, CYP27B1, and VDR were assayed by RT-qPCR and Western blotting or visualized by immunofluorescence staining. Results We demonstrated that T1D led to a decrease in blood 25OHD, which is probably due to the established downregulation of CYP27A1 and CYP2R1 expression. Vitamin D deficiency was accompanied by elevated synthesis of renal CYP27B1 and VDR. Conversely, CYP27B1 and VDR expression decreased in the liver, bone tissue, and bone marrow. Cholecalciferol administration countered the impairments of the vitamin D-endo/para/autocrine system in the kidneys and extrarenal tissues of diabetic rats. Conclusions T1D-induced vitamin D deficiency is associated with impairments of renal and extrarenal CYP27B1 and VDR expression. Cholecalciferol can be effective in the amelioration of diabetes-associated abnormalities in the vitamin D-endo/para/autocrine system.