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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2015 Mar 20.
Published in final edited form as: Chem Biol. 2014 Feb 13;21(3):319–329. doi: 10.1016/j.chembiol.2013.12.016

Figure 1. The Production and Metabolism of D2 and D3.

Figure 1

D3 is produced in the skin from 7-DHC in a nonenzymatic process in which the B ring is broken by UVB radiation, and the pre-D3 formed isomerizes to D3 in a thermo-sensitive process. D3 is converted to 25OHD3 in the liver and elsewhere by a number of enzymes of which CYP2R1 is the most important. The regulation of this step is modest at best. The kidney and other tissues metabolize 25OHD to the active metabolite 1,25(OH)2D3 or the first step in the catabolic process 24,25(OH)2D3. The enzymes responsible, CYP27B1 and CYP24A1, respectively, are tightly controlled. Although the regulation differs in different tissues, in the kidney, CYP27B1 is stimulated by PTH and inhibited by FGF23 and high calcium (Ca) and phosphate (P). The regulation of CYP24A1 is just the opposite. 1,25(OH)2D3 also regulates its own production directly and by inhibiting PTH production, stimulating FGF23 production, and inducing CYP24A1.