Victoria Hedges

Vitamin A Paper Review

The mechanism of action (nutrient physiology):

The intestine is one of the major sites for lymphocytes. This means that the intestines

play a major role in the immune system. The lymphocytes role in the immune system is to

either protect the body from antigens. Furthermore, the intestines not only protect the body

from unwanted bacteria and harmful diseases, but also against toxins that can cause damage.

Vitamin A plays a role in the immune system by cell differentiation of the lymphocytes within

the intestinal tract. Specifically, Vitamin A can affect the gut homing that occurs within the

intestines. Gut homing is where T cells that are activated, move to the intestinal tract to fight

off antigens, diseases, etc. Therefore, Vitamin A plays a major role in the immune system.

In order for vitamin A to do its part in the immune system, it must first be created. Thus,

vitamin A (retinol) is formed when retinaldehyde is metabolized. Prior to the conversion of

retinaldehyde, dietary Beta-carotene is converted to retinaldehyde. The conversion from the

dietary Beta-carotene to retinaldehyde takes place due to the enzyme BCO1. So, ultimately

Beta-carotene from one’s diet results in the formation of vitamin A within the intestines, which

can benefit the immune system due to vitamin A’s effect on gut homing.

In order to regulate this mechanism of dietary Beta-carotene to vitamin A, there needs

to be a transcription factor. For this specific mechanism, the transcription factor is ISX. This

transcription factor, ISX, is an intestine-specific homeobox protein that controls the enzyme

BCO1, which converts dietary Beta-carotene to vitamin A (rentinol). ISX regulates enzyme BCO1

by inhibiting its gene expression. It inhibits the gene expression of BCO1 when retinoic acid is
Victoria Hedges

present. So, the transcription factor, ISX, can greatly influence the conversion of dietary Beta-

carotene to vitamin A, which has a huge influence on the immunity of the intestines.

Summary of findings:

As mentioned before, the transcription factor ISX, plays a major connection between

one’s diet and their immunity. It was in this specific study that the ISX protein was studied to

identify its specific role and the impact it could have on one’s immunity. Thus, those leading the

study decided to study ISX-deficient mice. In doing so, they noticed that the mice had huge

stores of retinoid and enlarged lymphocytes. This is due to the lack of the transcription factor

ISX, the enzyme BCO1 was not controlled. Therefore, it led to unregulated conversion of

dietary-Beta carotene into retinoid. Therefore, there were elevated levels of vitamin A, which

means there was an imbalance of vitamin A levels in the rats. Due to the increased levels of

vitamin A, the intestinal immunity is disrupted. Therefore, the cell differentiation and gut

homing of the lymphocytes within the intestines are both affected. Furthermore, those who

performed the experiment noticed inflammation occurring in the pancreas because

lymphocytes from the intestines were going to the pancreas. This resulted in damage to the

Beta-islet cells in the pancreas as well as a glucose intolerance. Thus, the study found that the

transcription factor ISX plays a major role with the immune system as it is a vital connection

between the diet and the immune system. If the ISX protein levels are disrupted it can lead to

imbalanced vitamin A levels, which can jeopardize one’s immunity and put one at risk for

inflammatory disorders.
Victoria Hedges

How the paper relates to materials learned through class discussions:

This study relates to what has been discussed in class as we have spent a great deal of

time learning about vitamin A, which is what this paper focuses a great deal on. For instance,

the study is about how ISX is a transcription factor of dietary Beta-carotene to retinol, which is

also known as vitamin A. Furthermore, this paper relates to class discussion on vitamin A’s

functions and mechanisms of action. The mechanism of action within the study is similar to that

of the one discussed in class. The mechanism of action discussed in class shows how RAR and

RXR are both transcription factors that regulate transcription. When RAR and RXR receive

signals from retinoic acid, it activates gene transcription, which will result in the production of

proteins. This is quite similar to the mechanism of action discussed earlier about the

transcription factor ISX. The protein ISX, like the proteins RAR and RXR, activates the enzyme

BCO1 to convert dietary-Beta carotene to rentinol or also known as vitamin A. Then, the

vitamin A will lead to cell differentiation among the lymphocytic cells within the intestinal tract.

Furthermore, the protein ISX receives signals from retinoic acid like the proteins RAR and RXR.

Though the response for the protein ISX to the retinoic acid signaling is different than the

response of the proteins RAR and RXR, both receive signals from retinoic acid. Overall, this

study relates a great deal to the topics we learned about in class in regards to vitamin A. Also,

this paper is a great connection between class discussion and real-life discoveries.