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Prevention of Oxidative Damage to Rat Erythrocytes by Dietary Selenium^{1, 2,}

Department of Biochemistry, Department of Meat and Animal Science, and Department of Nutritional Sciences, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706

Experiments were conducted to compare the effects of dietary selenium and vitamin E on hemolysis and oxidative damage to hemoglobin of rat erythrocytes incubated in vitro. Dietary selenite (0.5 ppm selenium) decreased both autohemolysis and ascorbic acid-induced hemolysis of rat erythrocytes provided that glucose was included in the incubation medium. Ascorbic acid-induced oxidation of hemoglobin to methemoglobin, choleglobin and Heinz bodies was also inhibited by dietary selenium provided that glucose was included in the incubation medium. Dietary -tocopherol (50 IU/kg) decreased hemolysis either in the presence or absence of glucose in the incubation medium; however, tocopherol had no effect on hemoglobin oxidation or Heinz body formation. Glucose in the incubation medium protected both the membrane and hemoglobin of erythrocytes from selenium-supplemented rats, presumably by generating reduced glutathione; however, glucose did not protect the erythrocytes from selenium-deficient rats. Although the maintenance of reduced glutathione is an important function of glucose in preserving erythrocyte integrity, this function was unimpaired in selenium-deficient rat erythrocytes as erythrocyte glutathione levels were actually higher than in selenium-supplemented rats. These observations show that the role of selenium in preventing oxidative damage to the membrane and hemoglobin of erythrocytes is distinct from that of vitamin E and appears to involve, not the generation of glutathione, but the utilization of glutathione in maintaining cell integrity.

KEY WORDS: • selenium • vitamin E • glutathione • erythrocyte

¹ Preliminary reports of some of these experiments were made at meetings of the American Society of Animal Science; Rotruck, J. T., W. G. Hoekstra and A. L. Pope 1970 Protection against erythrocyte hemolysis by dietary Se. J. Anim. Sci. 31: 1028 (abstr. no. 64), and the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology; Rotruck, J. T., W. G. Hoekstra and A. L. Pope 1971 Glucose-dependent protection by dietary Se against oxidative damage to erythrocytes, Federation Proc. 30: 237 (abstr. no. 246).

² Research supported by the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, and by United States Public Health Service Program Grant no. AM-14881.

Manuscript received 21 September 1971.

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