Vitamin D regulates the pleiotropic effect to maintain cellular homeostasis and epidemiological evidence establishes an association between vitamin D deficiency and various human diseases. Here, the role of autophagy, the cellular self-degradation process, in vitamin D-dependent function is documented in different cellular settings and discussed the molecular aspects for treating chronic inflammatory, infectious diseases, and cancer. Vitamin D activates autophagy through a genomic and non-genomic signaling pathway to influence a wide variety of physiological functions of different body organs along with bone health and calcium metabolism. Moreover, it induces autophagy as a protective mechanism to inhibit oxidative stress and apoptosis to regulate cell proliferation, differentiation, and immune modulation. Furthermore, vitamin D and its receptor regulate autophagy signaling to control inflammation and host immunity by activating antimicrobial defense mechanisms. Vitamin D has been revealed as a potent anticancer agent and induces autophagy to increase the response to radiation and chemotherapeutic drugs for potential cancer therapy. Increasing vitamin D levels in the human body through timely exposure to sunlight or vitamin D supplements could activate autophagy as part of the homeostasis mechanism to prevent multiple human diseases and aging-associated dysfunctions.

维生素 D 具有调节多效性以维持细胞稳态的作用，流行病学证据表明维生素 D 缺乏与各种人类疾病之间存在关联。本文记录了不同细胞环境中自噬（细胞自我降解过程）在维生素 D 依赖性功能中的作用，并讨论了治疗慢性炎症、传染病和癌症的分子方面。维生素 D 通过基因组和非基因组信号通路激活自噬，影响不同身体器官的多种生理功能以及骨骼健康和钙代谢。此外，它还诱导自噬作为抑制氧化应激和细胞凋亡的保护机制，从而调节细胞增殖、分化和免疫调节。此外，维生素 D 及其受体调节自噬信号传导，通过激活抗菌防御机制来控制炎症和宿主免疫。维生素 D 已被证明是一种有效的抗癌剂，可诱导自噬以增强对放射和化疗药物的反应，从而实现潜在的癌症治疗。通过及时暴露在阳光下或补充维生素 D 来增加人体内的维生素 D 水平，可以激活自噬作为体内平衡机制的一部分，从而预防多种人类疾病和与衰老相关的功能障碍。