Emerging Role of Vitamin D and its Associated Molecules in Pathways Related to Pathogenesis of Thrombosis

Abstract

Vitamin D, besides having an essential role in calcium and bone metabolism, also acts as a mediator of many non-calcemic effects through modulations of several biological responses. Vitamin D exists in its two major forms, vitamin D2, or commonly known as ergocalciferol, and vitamin D3, or commonly known as cholecalciferol. Both of these forms bind to vitamin D-binding protein to get transported to all vital target organs, where it serves as a natural ligand to vitamin D receptors for enabling their biological actions. Clinical reports corroborating vitamin D deficiency with an increase in thrombotic episodes implicate the role of vitamin D and its associated molecule in the regulation of thrombosis-related pathways. Thrombosis is the formation and propagation of a blood clot, known as thrombus. It can occur either in the arterial or the venous system resulting in many severe complications, including myocardial infarction, stroke, ischemia, and venous thromboembolism. Vitamin D, directly or indirectly, controls the expression of several genes responsible for the regulation of cellular proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and angiogenesis. All of these are the processes of potential relevance to thrombotic disorders. This review, thus, discussed the effects of vitamin D on pathways involved in thrombosis, such as hemostatic process, inflammatory pathway, and endothelial cell activation, with a focus on the molecular mechanisms associated with them.