Vitamin E is best known for its role as a lipid soluble antioxidant in human nutrition. In this role, vitamin E protects lipid membranes from peroxidation and in this way protects the cells from damage. However, vitamin E also has significant immune enhancing effects and in this role may be able to regulate the function of dendritic cells, macrophages, natural killer cells, T cells and B cells. These effects may partly derive from the ability of vitamin E to inhibit free radicals that can damage the immune system, but specific cell regulatory roles may also exist, such as through activation of second messengers systems in specific immune cells. One way this may occur is through vitamin E increasing the responsiveness of the cell membranes to external stimuli, through a general improvement in the health of the membranes. This may be similar to the way that vitamin E improves the general physiological responses of cells to various signals through an ability of vitamin E to improve membrane function.
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