ArticleClinical and experimental immunology1999
Immunomodulation by vitamin B12: augmentation of CD8+ T lymphocytes and natural killer (NK) cell activity in vitamin B12-deficient patients by methyl-B12 treatment.
Article in Clinical and experimental immunology, 1999. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 123 papers, 8 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
123 citing papers in PubMed, 8 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 290 citations in OpenAlex.
- Genetic evidence of the causal relationship between genetically predicted nutrients and psoriatic arthritis.Clinical rheumatology · 2026Pooled it
- Does micronutrient supplementation improve outcomes in adult gastrointestinal surgery patients? A systematic review.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- The Immunomodulatory Effect of Vitamin B12 in Pernicious Anemia: A Systematic Review.Oxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2025Pooled it
- The level of homocysteine in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2023Pooled it
- The role of vitamin B12 in viral infections: a comprehensive review of its relationship with the muscle-gut-brain axis and implications for SARS-CoV-2 infection.Nutrition reviews · 2022Pooled it
- The Efficacy and Potential Mechanisms of Metformin in the Treatment of COVID-19 in the Diabetics: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2021Pooled it
- Neglected tropical diseases and vitamin B12: a review of the current evidence.Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene · 2018Pooled it
- Intake of Dietary One-Carbon Metabolism-Related B Vitamins and the Risk of Esophageal Cancer: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis.Nutrients · 2018Pooled it
- Trial
- Effect of multiple micronutrient supplementation on survival of HIV-infected children in Uganda: a randomized, controlled trial.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2010Trial
- Targeting Reactive Species Stress and Nutrient Sensing to Enhance NK-Cell Function: Mechanistic Strategies for Overcoming Pancreatic Cancer Progression and Resistance Through Supplement Therapy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Vitamin BNature communications · 2026Article
- Vitamins impacting mental/physical well-being during viral pandemics: a mechanistic review based on COVID-19: a comprehensive review.Inflammopharmacology · 2026Review
- Vanin-1 deficiency enhances host tolerance to influenza infection by modulating cellular redox status.PNAS nexus · 2026Article
- Elevated B12/CRP Index as a Simple Prognostic Indicator in Patients with Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma Treated with First-Line Targeted Therapy.Biomedicines · 2026Article
- Evaluation of the Effects of an Immune-Boosting Food Supplement on the Severity and Frequency of Pediatric Respiratory Tract Infections: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Immunostimulatory and Immunomodulatory Effects of Vitamin B12 Derivatives on Macrophages Through the Modulation of JNK Pathway.Cell biochemistry and biophysics · 2026Article
- Gut T cell-microbiota crosstalk orchestrates antibacterial immunity and mucosal homeostasis in teleost.Microbiome · 2026Article
- Micronutrients in Autoimmune Diseases: Shining a Light on Vitamin D, Cobalamin, Folate, and Iron Metabolism.Nutrients · 2026Review
- Vitamin B12-Loaded Chitosan Nanoparticles Promote Skeletal Muscle Injury Repair in Aged Rats via Amelioration of Aging-Suppressed Efferocytosis.Biomolecules · 2025Article
63 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
It has been suggested that vitamin B12 (vit.B12) plays an important role in immune system regulation, but the details are still obscure. In order to examine the action of vit.B12 on cells of the human immune system, lymphocyte subpopulations and NK cell activity were evaluated in 11 patients with vit.B12 deficiency anaemia and in 13 control subjects. Decreases in the number of lymphocytes and CD8+ cells and in the proportion of CD4+ cells, an abnormally high CD4/CD8 ratio, and suppressed NK cell activity were noted in patients compared with control subjects. In all 11 patients and eight control subjects, these immune parameters were evaluated before and after methyl-B12 injection. The lymphocyte counts and number of CD8+ cells increased both in patients and in control subjects. The high CD4/CD8 ratio and suppressed NK cell activity were improved by methyl-B12 treatment. Augmentation of CD3-CD16+ cells occurred in patients after methyl-B12 treatment. In contrast, antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) activity, lectin-stimulated lymphocyte blast formation, and serum levels of immunoglobulins were not changed by methyl-B12 treatment. These results indicate that vit.B12 might play an important role in cellular immunity, especially relativing to CD8+ cells and the NK cell system, which suggests effects on cytotoxic cells. We conclude that vit.B12 acts as an immunomodulator for cellular immunity.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.