Dear Colleagues,

The proven importance of vitamin D for human health has stimulated extensive efforts, not only to understand the variety of its biological actions, but also attempts by organic chemists to modify the vitamin D structure to produce analogs that can be more potent in its effects on various body systems other than the skeletal system. The earliest modification occurred in nature. Animals, including humans, synthesize the secosteroid known as vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), while plants synthesize vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) with an unsaturated side-chain. Both have similar biological functions in humans, and both are used to treat rickets, osteoporosis, and osteomalacia. In order to be active as regulators of gene transcription, they need to be metabolically activated in the human body. Vitamin D2 and its derivatives were found to be somewhat less potent, but also less toxic, compared to vitamin D3 compounds. Numerous analogues have been synthesized with the primary goal of overcoming the hypercalcemic toxicity of active natural vitamin D derivatives, which limits their clinical use. Several such analogues have demonstrated reduced calcemic effects in model systems and human studies. Nevertheless, more work is necessary to develop clinically effective analogues. The ability of vitamin D compounds to cooperate with conventional drugs and with agents that sensitize abnormal cells to these compounds may offer a complementary approach towards an improved vitamin D-based therapy of human diseases.

This Special Issue will cover a selection of recent research topics and current review articles in the field of vitamin D and its analogues for biological actions and therapy of human diseases.

Prof. Dr. George P. Studzinski
Prof. Dr. Ewa Marcinkowska
Prof. Dr. Michael Danilenko
Guest Editors

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• vitamin D
• analogs of vitamin D
• vitamin D receptor
• vitamin D metabolism
• calcium-phosphate
• homeostasis
• differentiation
• apoptosis
• cell cycle
• intracellular signaling
• regulation of immune system