Does vitamin A supplementation affect GATA3 and IL-4 genes expression in TCD4+ cell culture? A double blind randomized clinical trial on MS patients

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an inflammatory central nervous system disease. It has been shown that Th2 cells can induce anti-inflammatory properties that can have a role in treatment of inflammatory disease through overexpression of GATA3 and IL- 4 genes. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of vitamin A supplementation on GATA3 and IL-4 genes expression in TCD4+ cell culture in MS patients.

This study was a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial of a 6-month duration. Thirty-six MS patients were enrolled and randomly divided into a vitamin A group (n=19, receiving daily 25000IU vitamin A in the form of retinyl palmitate) and a placebo group (n=17). After the intervention the gene expression pattern of Th2-related cytokines was determined by real-time PCR.

There was no significant difference in vitamin A intake, age or BMI of the participants at the baseline. Vitamin A supplementation significantly increased GATA3 and IL-4 gene expression in cell cultures treated with MOG (P<0.001 and P=0.004, respectively) and non-stimulated cells as compared with placebo group (P<0.001 and P=0.001, respectively).

Supplementation with vitamin A can be beneficial in slowing disease progression through overexpression of anti-inflammatory cytokines. It is recommended to investigate RXRs and RARs genes expression and their polymorphisms in future studies.