Provitamin A metabolism and functions in mammalian biology
Open accessAbstract
Vitamin A deficiency is a major public health problem in developing countries. Some studies also implicate a suboptimal vitamin A intake in certain parts of the population of the industrialized world. Provitamin A carotenoids such as β-carotene are the major source for retinoids (vitamin A and its derivatives) in the human diet. However, it is still controversial how much β-carotene intake is required and safe. An important contributor to this uncertainty is the lack of knowledge about the biochemical and molecular basis of β-carotene metabolism. Recently, key players of provitamin A metabolism have been molecularly identified and biochemically characterized. Studies in knockout mouse models showed that intestinal β-carotene absorption and conversion to retinoids is under negative feedback regulation that adapts this process to the actual requirement of vitamin A of the body. These studies also showed that in peripheral tissues a conversion of β-carotene occurs and affects retinoid-dependent physiologic processes. Moreover, these analyses provided a possible explanation for the adverse health effects of carotenoids by showing that a pathologic accumulation of these compounds can induce oxidative stress in mitochondria and cell signaling pathways related to disease. Genetic polymorphisms in identified genes exist in humans and also alter carotenoid homeostasis. Here, the advanced knowledge of β-carotene metabolism is reviewed, which provides a molecular framework for understanding the role of this important micronutrient in health and disease.
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Animals cannot synthesize retinoids de novo and depend solely on a dietary source of vitamin A obtained as pre-formed retinoids or pro-vitamin A carotenoids.
“Because animals cannot synthesize retinoids de novo, they solely depend on a dietary source of vitamin A obtained as either pre-formed retinoids or pro-vitamin A carotenoids, of which the most abundant representatives are retinyl esters (REs) or β-carotene, respectively [21].”
From Molecular Basis for Vitamin A Uptake and Storage in Vertebrates (2016) · cites this paper as [21]
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Enzymology of retinoic acid biosynthesis and degradation
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Molecular Basis for Vitamin A Uptake and Storage in Vertebrates
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“synthesize retinoids de novo, they solely depend on a dietary source of vitamin A obtained as either pre-formed retinoids or pro-vitamin A carotenoids, of which the most abundant representatives are retinyl esters (REs) or β-carotene, respectively [21].”
BackgroundLazzarino, G., Longo, S., Amorini, A. M., Di Pietro, V., D’Urso, S., Lazzarino, G., Belli, A., & Tavazzi, B. (2017) · Journal of Chromatography A · doi:10.1016/j.chroma.2017.10.053 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
- Authors
- von Lintig, J.
- Venue
- The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2012-11
- Volume
- 96
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1234S-1244S
- ISSN
- 0002-9165 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3471205
- OpenAlex
- W2165802855
- Cited by
- 138
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2026: 10 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 15 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 6
- FWCI
- 0.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (EY020551)
- National Eye Institute (EY020551, EY019641, R01EY019641, R01EY020551)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Retinoids in leukemia and cellular processes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Biochemistry › Antioxidant Activity and Oxidative Stress
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Nutrition, Genetics, and Disease
- Keywords
- beta-carotene, retinoids, vitamin A deficiency, carotenoid absorption, negative feedback regulation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial stress, genetic polymorphism, knockout mouse models, micronutrient intake
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Gene Expression Regulation, Humans, Intestinal Absorption, Vitamin A, Vitamin A Deficiency, beta Carotene, Dioxygenases, beta-Carotene 15,15'-Monooxygenase, Mice
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