Margherita Cantorna

Emphasis Area Representative, Immunology and Infectious Disease; Director of the Center for Molecular Immunology and Infectious Disease; Distinguished Professor of Molecular Immunology

Margherita Cantorna

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

Links

Publication Tags

Vitamin D Calcitriol Receptors Microbiota T Lymphocytes Knockout Mice Gastrointestinal Microbiome Inflammation Vitamin D Deficiency Citrobacter Rodentium T Cells Homeostasis Succinic Acid Metabolism Prebiotics Gluconeogenesis Interleukin 17 Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Infection Liver Bacteria Glucose Lymphocytes Regulatory T Lymphocytes Vitamin A Health

Most Recent Papers

Aligning the Paradoxical Role of Vitamin D in Gastrointestinal Immunity.

Margherita Cantorna, Connie Rogers, J Arora, 2019, Trends in endocrinology and metabolism: TEM on p. 459-466

Vitamin A and vitamin D regulate the microbial complexity, barrier function, and the mucosal immune responses to ensure intestinal homeostasis.

Margherita Cantorna, L Cisney, J Arora, 2019, Critical reviews in biochemistry and molecular biology on p. 184-192

Vitamin D regulates the microbiota to control the numbers of RORγt/FoxP3+ regulatory T cells in the colon

Margherita T. Cantorna, Yang Ding Lin, Juhi Arora, Stephanie Bora, Yuan Tian, Robert G. Nichols, Andrew D. Patterson, 2019, Frontiers in Immunology

Vitamin D is required for ILC3 derived IL-22 and protection from Citrobacter rodentium infection

Yang Ding Lin, Juhi Arora, Kevin Diehl, Stephanie A. Bora, Margherita T. Cantorna, 2019, Frontiers in Immunology

Prebiotic effects of white button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus) feeding on succinate and intestinal gluconeogenesis in C57BL/6 mice

Yuan Tian, Robert G. Nichols, Pratiti Roy, Wei Gui, Philip B. Smith, Jingtao Zhang, Yangding Lin, Veronika Weaver, Jingwei Cai, Andrew David Patterson, Margherita Teresa-Anna Cantorna, 2018, Journal of Functional Foods on p. 223-232

Regulation of vitamin D metabolism following disruption of the microbiota using broad spectrum antibiotics

Stephanie A. Bora, Mary J. Kennett, Philip B. Smith, Andrew David Patterson, Margherita Teresa-Anna Cantorna, 2018, Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry on p. 65-73

Vitamin A deficiency in mice alters host and gut microbial metabolism leading to altered energy homeostasis

Yuan Tian, Robert G. Nichols, Jingwei Cai, Andrew David Patterson, Margherita Teresa-Anna Cantorna, 2018, Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry on p. 28-34

Neuroprotective role of the ron receptor tyrosine kinase underlying central nervous system inflammation in health and disease

Adwitia Dey, Joselyn N. Allen, James W. Fraser, Lindsay M. Snyder, Yuan Tian, Limin Zhang, Robert F. Paulson, Andrew Patterson, Margherita T. Cantorna, Pamela A. Hankey-Giblin, 2018, Frontiers in Immunology

The gut microbiota regulates endocrine vitamin D metabolism through fibroblast growth factor 23

Stephanie A. Bora, Mary J. Kennett, Philip B. Smith, Andrew D. Patterson, Margherita T. Cantorna, 2018, Frontiers in Immunology

Control of circulating IgE by the Vitamin D receptor in vivo involves B cell intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms

Jamaal James, Veronika Weaver, Margherita T. Cantorna, 2017, Journal of Immunology on p. 1164-1171

Most-Cited Papers

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 Johnson Hartman, Margherita Teresa-Anna Cantorna, 2013, Clinical and Translational Gastroenterology

Converging pathways lead to overproduction of IL-17 in the absence of vitamin D signaling.

D Bruce, Shaoyong Yu, J Ooi, Margherita Cantorna, 2011, International Immunology on p. 519-528

Vitamin D, immune regulation, the microbiota, and inflammatory bowel disease

Margherita Teresa-Anna Cantorna, Kaitlin McDaniel, Stephanie Bora, Jing Chen, Jamaal James, 2014, Experimental Biology and Medicine on p. 1524-1530

Vitamin D regulation of immune function in the gut: why do T cells have vitamin D receptors?

J Ooi, Jin Chen, Margherita Cantorna, 2012, Molecular Aspects of Medicine on p. 77-82

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

Epigenetic reduction in invariant NKT cells following in utero vitamin D deficiency in mice

Sanhong Yu, Margherita Teresa-Anna Cantorna, 2011, Journal of Immunology on p. 1384-1390

Intrinsic requirement for the vitamin D receptor in the development of CD8αα-expressing T cells

Danny Bruce, Margherita T. Cantorna, 2011, Journal of Immunology on p. 2819-2825

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, Margherita Teresa-Anna Cantorna, 2015, Mucosal Immunology on p. 618-626

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

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