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Effect of Dietary Selenium on Erythrocyte and Liver Glutathione Peroxidase in the Rat^1,2,

Department of Biochemistry, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706

Experiments were conducted with male rats to quantitate the relationship between dietary selenium (Se) intake and the amount of the enzyme glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in erythrocytes and liver. Weanling male rats were fed torula yeast-based diets with 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, or 5.0 ppm Se supplemented as sodium selenite. Liver GSH-Px fell to undetectable levels (<1% of that found in the weanling rats) within 24 days in the 0 ppm Se group; feeding 0.1 ppm Se, or greater, caused liver GSH-Px to increase above that found in the weanling rats. The erythrocyte GSH-Px response to lack of dietary Se was somewhat smaller in magnitude and more gradual; however, only 21% of initial erythrocyte GSH-Px activity remained in the unsupplemented group after 66 days. Increased dietary Se resulted in corresponding increases of erythrocyte GSH-Px activity. Resupplementing with 0.1, 0.5, or 5.0 ppm Se elevated the depressed erythrocyte GSH-Px levels of the deficient rats. Increased dietary Se provided for both faster elevation, and higher maximal GSH-Px activity which in all cases was achieved 60 to 90 days after resupplementation. The results suggest that tissue GSH-Px can be used as an indicator of animal Se status, but other factors such as age, sex, and dietary vitamin E may have to be considered. Lack of GSH-Px in livers of Se-deficient rats may explain the liver necrosis observed when the diet is also deficient in vitamin E and sulfur-containing amino acids.

KEY WORDS: • selenium • glutathione peroxidase • liver • erythrocyte

¹ Preliminary reports of some of these experiments were presented in: Rotruck, J. T., Pope, A. L., Ganther, H. E., Swanson, A. B., Hafeman, D. G. & Hoekstra, W. G. (1973) Selenium: Biochemical role as a component of glutathione peroxidase. Science 179, 588 and at the meetings of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology: Hoekstra, W. G., Hafeman, D., Oh, S. H., Sunde, R. A. & Ganther, H. E. (1973) Effect of dietary selenium on liver and erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase in the rat. Federation Proc. 32, 885 (abstr.).

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 16 October 1973.

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