CHAPTER 3: Vitamin D in Obesity and Cancer Prevention

Vitamin D is a versatile molecule. It is involved in many biological processes such as inflammation, immunity and calcium metabolism. It is also implicated in several diseases such as obesity and cancer. The principal function of vitamin D is to promote the activation and repression of potential genes, with different roles in cell proliferation and differentiation. In addition, epigenetic or genetic modifications of the sequence of its specific receptor, leading to altered expression, could determine the efficiency of its function. In this chapter, we offer a wide review of the metabolism of vitamin D and its role in cell proliferation and cancer.