T cells are dormant immune cells until they are activated to detect and kill bacteria and viruses. A new study shows without vitamin D in the blood, activation would not take place.
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According to Professor Carsten Geisler, of the Department of International Health, Immunology and Microbiology at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, when T cells are exposed to foreign pathogens, they expose a vitamin D receptor that searches for vitamin D. If the cells do not receive the nutrient, the cells will not activate.
