Vitamin D supplementation improves serum markers associated with hepatic fibrogenesis in chronic hepatitis C patients: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study

Hepatic fibrosis is the net accumulation of matrix tissue components which controlled by pro-fibrolytic enzymes, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), and pro-fibrotic cytokine, TGF-beta(1), and enzymes, tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs). Vitamin D (VD) supplementation has been shown to reverse these processes in vitro and in vivo. This study sought to determine the effect of VD supplementation on serum fibrotic markers in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients. Fifty-four CHC patients with VD deficiency were randomized into two groups, a VD group (n = 29) and a placebo group (n = 29). The serum levels of 25-hydroxy VD, TGF-beta(1), TIMP-1, MMP2 and MMP9 were measured at baseline and at the end of the 6-week study period. Upon correction of VD levels, TGF-beta(1) and TIMP-1 levels were decreased, and the MMP2 and MMP9 levels were significantly increased in the VD group. A comparison of the mean changes (delta) in the markers between groups showed that TGF-beta(1) and TIMP-1 levels were significantly decreased and the MMP2 and MMP9 were significantly higher in the VD group than in the placebo group. By using CHC patients as a model, this study provides additional evidence that VD plays an important role in the reversal of hepatic fibrogenesis.