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Review
. 2018 Mar 10;7(3):41.
doi: 10.3390/antiox7030041.

Influence of Vitamin C on Lymphocytes: An Overview

Gwendolyn N Y van Gorkom  1 , Roel G J Klein Wolterink  2 , Catharina H M J Van Elssen  3 , Lotte Wieten  4 , Wilfred T V Germeraad  5 , Gerard M J Bos  6
Affiliations
Review

Influence of Vitamin C on Lymphocytes: An Overview

Gwendolyn N Y van Gorkom et al. Antioxidants (Basel). .

Abstract

Vitamin C or ascorbic acid (AA) is implicated in many biological processes and has been proposed as a supplement for various conditions, including cancer. In this review, we discuss the effects of AA on the development and function of lymphocytes. This is important in the light of cancer treatment, as the immune system needs to regenerate following chemotherapy or stem cell transplantation, while cancer patients are often AA-deficient. We focus on lymphocytes, as these white blood cells are the slowest to restore, rendering patients susceptible to often lethal infections. T lymphocytes mediate cellular immunity and have been most extensively studied in the context of AA biology. In vitro studies demonstrate that T cell development requires AA, while AA also enhances T cell proliferation and may influence T cell function. There are limited and opposing data on the effects of AA on B lymphocytes that mediate humoral immunity. However, AA enhances the proliferation of NK cells, a group of cytotoxic innate lymphocytes. The influence of AA on natural killer (NK) cell function is less clear. In summary, an increasing body of evidence indicates that AA positively influences lymphocyte development and function. Since AA is a safe and cheap nutritional supplement, it is worthwhile to further explore its potential benefits for immune reconstitution of cancer patients treated with immunotoxic drugs.

Keywords: B cells; NK cells; T cells; ascorbic acid; lymphocytes; natural killer cells; vitamin C.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Effects of AA on Immune cells. 1. T cell development: Enhanced T cell development due to fast transition from DN to DD stage. 2. Th cell differentiation: skewing towards Th1 and Th17, with inhibition of Th2 polarization. 3. CTL induction: Increased induction of CTLs due to production of IL-15 and IL-12 by DCs. 4. Treg induction: Current data are conflicting. 5. B cell: No conclusive data. 6. NK cell function: No conclusive data. 7. NK cell proliferation: increased NK cell proliferation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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