Dd. Branisteanu et al., COMBINATION OF VITAMIN-D ANALOGS AND IMMUNOSUPPRESSANTS - POTENTIAL CLINICAL USE, CLINICAL IMMUNOTHERAPEUTICS, 6(6), 1996, pp. 465-478
The active form of vitamin D, calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D-3),
has important immunomodulating effects in vitro and in animal models o
f transplantation and autoimmune diseases. There is increasing evidenc
e of cooperative effects between calcitriol and other immunosuppressan
ts. New synthetic vitamin D analogues show much attenuated toxicity wh
en compared with calcitriol while retaining their immunosuppressive pr
operties. Subtherapeutic doses of such analogues might therefore be us
ed as dose-reducing agents for classical immunosuppressants.