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Review
. 2022 Aug 12;23(16):9016.
doi: 10.3390/ijms23169016.

Role of Vitamin D in Liver Disease and Complications of Advanced Chronic Liver Disease

Federico Ravaioli  1   2 , Alessandra Pivetti  1 , Lorenza Di Marco  1   3 , Christou Chrysanthi  1 , Gabriella Frassanito  1 , Martina Pambianco  1 , Chiara Sicuro  1 , Noemi Gualandi  1 , Tomas Guasconi  1 , Maddalena Pecchini  1 , Antonio Colecchia  1
Affiliations
Review

Role of Vitamin D in Liver Disease and Complications of Advanced Chronic Liver Disease

Federico Ravaioli et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Vitamin D is a crucial nutrient with many pleiotropic effects on health and various chronic diseases. The purpose of this review is to provide a detailed report on the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying vitamin D deficiency in patients with chronic liver disease, addressing the different liver etiologies and the condition of advanced chronic liver disease (cirrhosis) with related complications. To date, patients with liver disease, regardless of underlying etiology, have been shown to have reduced levels of vitamin D. There is also evidence of the predictive role of vitamin D values in complications and progression of advanced disease. However, specific indications of vitamin D supplementation are not conclusive concerning what is already recommended in the general population. Future studies should make an effort to unify and validate the role of vitamin D supplementation in chronic liver disease.

Keywords: HCC; NAFLD; advanced chronic liver disease; cirrhosis; nutrition; portal hypertension; vitamin D.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The metabolism of Vitamin D. Solid arrows show the direct effects of its products, and dotted lines demonstrate the negative feedback of plasma calcium or 1,25(OH)2D. (Ca: calcium; 7-DHC: 7-dehydrocholesterol; GH: growth hormone; 1a-OHase: 1-alpha-hydroxylase; 25-OHase: 25-hydroxylase; P: phosphate; PTH: parathyroid hormone; VDR: vitamin D receptor; Vit: vitamin).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Role of Vitamin D in chronic liver diseases. (TNF: tumour necrosis factor; AIH: autoimmune hepatitis; VDR: vitamin D receptor; Th: T helper; PBC: primary biliary cholangitis; HCV: hepatitis C virus; ApoA1: Apolipoprotein A1; ApoC3: apolipoprotein C-III; HBV: hepatitis B virus; HOMA-IR: Homeostasis Model Assessment Insulin Resistance; VEGF: vascular endothelial growth factor; HCC: hepatocellular carcinoma; AFP: alpha-fetoprotein).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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