Role of Kidney Tissue in Metabolism of Vitamin D

Abstract

When, in 1966, radioactive vitamin D₃ of high specific activity was prepared, a reasonable approach became available to the question of whether vitamin D was active as such or whether it had to be first converted to metabolically active forms. Thus, Lund and DeLuca¹ demonstrated the existence of polar metabolites that not only proved to be more effective than vitamin D₃ in the treatment of rickets but also could act much more rapidly than the parent vitamin D₃ in initiating intestinal calcium transport and in initiating bone mineral mobilization, both fundamental actions of the vitamin. This discovery . . .