Vitamin D receptor

The Vitamin D receptor (VDR) is a cell receptor that turns on the expression of certain pathways when activated by Vitamin D.

Individuals who are heterozygous or homozygous for the VDR mutation have lower Vitamin D levels, make less dopamine, and are more tolerant of methyl donors.

VDR may be required for the normal development of natural killer T cells that react to cells expressing CD1d, as in cells infected by certain viruses.

An Epstein-Barr virus protein EBNA-3 has an affinity for VDR and may actually block the activation of VDR-dependent genes by Vitamin D.