Margherita Cantorna
Director of the Center for Molecular Immunology and Infectious Disease; Distinguished Professor of Molecular Immunology

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125 Henning
University Park, PA - She/Her
- mxc69@psu.edu
- 814-863-2819
Research Summary
Understanding the working of the immune system. Utilizing animal models of several human diseases including enteric infections and inflammatory bowel disease to determine the cellular targets and molecular signals by which dietary components regulate immunity.
Huck Graduate Students
Huck Affiliations
- Integrative and Biomedical Physiology
- Molecular, Cellular, and Integrative Biosciences
- Center for Molecular Immunology and Infectious Disease
- Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics
Links
Publication Tags
Vitamin D Calcitriol Receptors T Lymphocytes Vitamin A Infection Hydrocarbons Inflammation Infections Knockout Mice Homeostasis Vitamin D Deficiency Cells Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptors Agaricales Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Microbiota Vitamin Mice Citrobacter Rodentium Epithelial Cells T Cells Lymphocytes Genes Gastrointestinal Microbiome Interleukin 4Most Recent Publications
Vitamin D for COVID-19: where are we now?
Adrian R. Martineau, Margherita T. Cantorna, 2022, Nature Reviews Immunology on p. 529-530
Vitamin D and the Ability to Produce 1,25(OH)<sub>2</sub>D Are Critical for Protection from Viral Infection of the Lungs
Juhi Arora, Devanshi R. Patel, McKayla J. Nicol, Cassandra J. Field, Katherine H. Restori, Jinpeng Wang, Nicole E. Froelich, Bhuvana Katkere, Josey A. Terwilliger, Veronika Weaver, Erin Luley, Kathleen Kelly, Girish S. Kirimanjeswara, Troy C. Sutton, Margherita T. Cantorna, 2022, Nutrients
CCL27 is a crucial regulator of immune homeostasis of the skin and mucosal tissues
Micha L. Davila, Ming Xu, Chengyu Huang, Erin R. Gaddes, Levi Winter, Margherita T. Cantorna, Yong Wang, Na Xiong, 2022, iScience
Novel insight into the role of the vitamin D receptor in the development and function of the immune system
Juhi Arora, Jinpeng Wang, Veronika Weaver, Yongwei Zhang, Margherita T. Cantorna, 2022, Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Transcriptional Profiling of the Small Intestine and the Colon Reveals Modulation of Gut Infection with Citrobacter rodentium According to the Vitamin A Status
Zhi Chai, Yafei Lyu, Qiuyan Chen, Cheng Hsin Wei, I.M. Snyder, Lindsay M. Snyder, Veronika Weaver, Aswathy Sebastian, István Albert, Qunhua Li, Margherita T. Cantorna, Catharine Ross, A Ross, 2022, Nutrients on p. 1563
RNAseq studies reveal distinct transcriptional response to vitamin A deficiency in small intestine versus colon, uncovering novel vitamin A-regulated genes
Zhi Chai, Yafei Lyu, Qiuyan Chen, Cheng Hsin Wei, Lindsay M. Snyder, Veronika Weaver, Aswathy Sebastian, István Albert, Qunhua Li, Margherita T. Cantorna, A. Catharine Ross, 2021, Nutrition Reports International
Retinoid Signaling in Intestinal Epithelial Cells Is Essential for Early Survival From Gastrointestinal Infection
Lindsay M. Snyder, Juhi Arora, Mary J. Kennett, Veronika Weaver, Margherita T. Cantorna, 2020, Frontiers in Immunology
Highlights from the 22nd workshop on vitamin D in New York City, May 2019
James C. Fleet, Carlos Bernal-Mizrachi, Martin Hewison, Rolf Jorde, John White, Margherita Cantorna, Inez Schoenmakers, Reinhold Erben, 2020, Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Aligning the Paradoxical Role of Vitamin D in Gastrointestinal Immunity
Margherita T. Cantorna, Connie J. Rogers, Juhi Arora, 2019, Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism on p. 459-466
Isolation and Identification of Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Modulators in White Button Mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus)
Yuan Tian, Wei Gui, Philip B. Smith, Imhoi Koo, Iain A. Murray, Margherita T. Cantorna, Gary H. Perdew, Andrew D. Patterson, 2019, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry on p. 9286-9294
Most-Cited Papers
Vitamin D and 1,25(OH)<sub>2</sub>D regulation of T cells
Margherita T. Cantorna, Lindsay Snyder, Yang Ding Lin, Linlin Yang, 2015, Nutrients on p. 3011-3021
Vitamin D regulates the gut microbiome and protects mice from dextran sodium sulfate-induced coliti
Jot Hui Ooi, Yunfei Li, Connie J. Rogers, Margherita T. Cantorna, 2013, Journal of Nutrition on p. 1679-1686
Therapeutic effect of vitamin d supplementation in a pilot study of crohn's patients
Linlin Yang, Veronika Weaver, Jill P. Smith, Sandra Bingaman, Terryl J. Hartman, Margherita T. Cantorna, 2013, Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology
Vitamin D, immune regulation, the microbiota, and inflammatory bowel disease
Margherita T. Cantorna, Kaitlin McDaniel, Stephanie Bora, Jing Chen, Jamaal James, 2014, Experimental Biology and Medicine on p. 1524-1530
Mushrooms and health summit proceedings
Mary Jo Feeney, Johanna Dwyer, Clare M. Hasler-Lewis, John A. Milner, Manny Noakes, Sylvia Rowe, Mark Wach, Robert B. Beelman, Joe Caldwell, Margherita T. Cantorna, Lisa A. Castlebury, Shu Ting Chang, Lawrence J. Cheskin, Roger Clemens, Greg Drescher, Victor L. Fulgoni, David B. Haytowitz, Van S. Hubbard, David Law, Amy Myrdal Miller, Bart Minor, Susan S. Percival, Gabriela Riscuta, Barbara Schneeman, Suzanne Thornsbury, Cheryl D. Toner, Catherine E. Woteki, Dayong Wu, 2014, Journal of Nutrition
Dysbiosis caused by vitamin D receptor deficiency confers colonization resistance to Citrobacter rodentium through modulation of innate lymphoid cells
J. Chen, A. Waddell, Y. D. Lin, M. T. Cantorna, 2015, Mucosal Immunology on p. 618-626
Vitamin A and vitamin D regulate the microbial complexity, barrier function, and the mucosal immune responses to ensure intestinal homeostasis
Margherita T. Cantorna, Lindsay Snyder, Juhi Arora, 2019, Critical Reviews in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology on p. 184-192
Differential expression of microRNAs in exhaled breath condensates of patients with asthma, patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and healthy adults
Mark Pinkerton, Vernon Chinchilli, Erin Banta, Timothy Craig, Avery August, Rebecca Bascom, Margherita Teresa-Anna Cantorna, Eric Thomas Harvill, Faoud Ishmael, 2013, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology on p. 217-219.e2
The vitamin D receptor turns off chronically activated T cells
Margherita T. Cantorna, Amanda Waddell, 2014, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences on p. 70-75
Vitamin D receptor expression controls proliferation of naïve CD8<sup>+</sup> T cells and development of CD8 mediated gastrointestinal inflammation
Jing Chen, Danny Bruce, Margherita T. Cantorna, 2014, BMC Immunology
News Articles Featuring Margherita Cantorna
Nov 21, 2020
7 Things to know before taking Vitamin D Supplements
Known as the "sunshine pill” for its supposed ability to mimic the effects of sunshine on health, vitamin D supplements are a billion-dollar industry. People take vitamin D supplements for a variety of reasons, mental and physical. Some take it if they feel sad, perhaps as the result of the winter blues, for example. Others take it because vitamin D supposedly plays a role in bone health.
Full Article
Jan 19, 2020
Why getting enough vitamin D in wintertime is so important
Winter is upon us and so is the risk of vitamin D deficiency and infections. Vitamin D — which is made in our skin following sunlight exposure and also found in oily fish (mackerel, tuna and sardines), mushrooms and fortified dairy and nondairy substitutes — is essential for good health.
Full Article
Jan 16, 2020
Why you need more Vitamin D in the winter
Winter is upon us and so is the risk of vitamin D deficiency and infections. Vitamin D, which is made in our skin following sunlight exposure and also found in oily fish (mackerel, tuna and sardines), mushrooms and fortified dairy and nondairy substitutes, is essential for good health.
Full Article
Jan 16, 2020
Why you need more Vitamin D in the winter
Winter is upon us and so is the risk of vitamin D deficiency and infections. Vitamin D, which is made in our skin following sunlight exposure and also found in oily fish (mackerel, tuna and sardines), mushrooms and fortified dairy and nondairy substitutes, is essential for good health.
Full Article
May 21, 2019
Science on Tap Explores Mushrooms, Their Genes, and Our Health
Nearly two-thirds of white-button mushrooms consumed in the United States come from Pennsylvania, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and this month's Science on Tap will bring together a pair of Penn State researchers to share their insight into the popular fungus.
Full Article
Aug 21, 2018
Eating white button mushrooms may improve blood sugar control
A new study has found that eating white button mushrooms can affect glucose, or blood sugar, regulation, thereby reducing diabetes and other metabolic conditions, such as obesity.
Full Article