Higher levels of an antimicrobial protein regulated by Vitamin D appear to reduce the risk of death from an infection in dialysis patients. Patients with a high level of this protein were 3.7 times more likely to survive dialysis for a year without infection, which is a great risk for those on dialysis.
 
The protein, called human cathelicidin antimicrobial protein, or hCAP18, is part of the "innate" immune system in humans. It is a mechanism that helps fight off various bacteria, viruses and fungi. These "antimicrobial peptides" have been the source of considerable research in recent years, in part because infections rarely develop resistance to them. hCAP18 is the only antimicrobial peptide of this type in humans and appears to kill bacteria that causes sepsis and tuberculosis.

This article originally appeared in the April 2009 issue of Renal Flash.