1,25‐Dihydroxyvitamin D3 Mediates L6 Myoblast Differentiation via Vitamin D Receptor (VDR)

A form of vitamin D that your body uses helps muscle cells grow better, improves how muscles use insulin to build protein, and makes the energy factories inside muscle cells work harder.

In lab-grown rat muscle cells, a form of vitamin D helps change how the cells develop into muscle fibers, but only partly — another protein called the vitamin D receptor is involved, and it’s probably not the only one doing the job.

When scientists reduced a specific vitamin D sensor in rat muscle cells, the cells made less of a protein linked to slow-twitch muscles—unless they added a lot of vitamin D, then the protein came back.

When scientists added a form of vitamin D to rat muscle cells in a dish, the cells made more of a protein called VDR — and the more vitamin D they got, the more VDR they made. This suggests vitamin D might help control this protein in muscle cells.

When scientists reduce a specific vitamin D sensor in rat muscle cells, the cells make less of two important muscle-building proteins—but giving them a tiny amount of active vitamin D brings those proteins back up.

When scientists lower a specific vitamin D sensor in rat muscle cells, the cells make less of a protein linked to fast-twitch muscles—but giving them a form of vitamin D brings that protein back up.