Combination of vitamin D analogues and immunosuppressants - Potential clinical use

The active form of vitamin D, calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D-3), has important immunomodulating effects in vitro and in animal models of transplantation and autoimmune diseases. There is increasing evidence of cooperative effects between calcitriol and other immunosuppressants. New synthetic vitamin D analogues show much attenuated toxicity when compared with calcitriol while retaining their immunosuppressive properties. Subtherapeutic doses of such analogues might therefore be used as dose-reducing agents for classical immunosuppressants.