Vitamin D3 Analog Screening

Human vitamin D receptor (hVDR) belongs to the superfamily of steroid receptors. The receptors are nuclear transcription factors that regulate gene expression in response to binding of their specific ligands. According to present knowledge, the molecular mechanism of vitamin D action involves ligand binding, which induces a conformational change into hVDR, which, in turn, enables transactivation. This can result in either activation or repression of gene transcription (1 ). In the search of potent vitamin D3 analogs, it is reasonable to target the screening methods on the steps mentioned above.