Reports summarize diet and nutrition research from University of Tokyo
December 3, 2010 "Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is a nuclear receptor that regulates the expression of genes involved in calcium homeostasis. Activation of VDR is thought to be a promising drug target for osteoporosis," scientists in Tokyo, Japan report (see also Diet and Nutrition).
"Using a VDR-driven luciferase expression assay for screening a naturally occurring food component, we identified quercetin as a VDR activator. Quercetin also activated the GAL4 DNA-binding domain fused to the VDR ligand-binding domain. Moreover. it was confirmed that quercetin increases the mRNA level of TRPV6, which is a VDR target gene, in Caco-2 cells," wrote J. Inoue and colleagues, University of Tokyo.
The researchers concluded: "These results indicate that quercetin enhances VDR activity through the alteration of cofactor recruitment, thereby stimulating its target genes while providing a new function for quercetin as the VDR activator."
Inoue and colleagues published their study in the Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology (Quercetin Enhances VDR Activity, Leading to Stimulation of Its Target Gene Expression in Caco-2 Cells. Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology, 2010;56(5):326-330).
