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Administration of vitamin D to rats deficient in this vitamin markedly increases the template activity for DNA-dependent RNA synthesis by rat intestinal mucosal chromatin. The maximum stimulation of template activity occurs three hours after a dose of 2000 international units of vitamin D(3) is given. These results support the concept that vitamin D functions by initiating the transcription of DNA into mRNA, which codes for functional protein(s) involved in calcium transport in the small intestine.
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