20 Mar 2015 --- Vitamin D deficiency is linked to type 2 diabetes and heart disease, and both disorders are rooted in chronic inflammation. Now, studying mice that lack the ability to process vitamin D in immune cells involved in inflammation, researchers found that the animals made excess glucose, became resistant to insulin action and accumulated plaques in their blood vessels. They said the way those key immune cells behave without vitamin D may provide new targets for treating diabetes and atherosclerosis patients.