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ToxSci Advance Access originally published online on August 28, 2007
Toxicological Sciences 2008 101(1):22-31; doi:10.1093/toxsci/kfm221
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Toxicology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Elemental Selenium at Nano Size (Nano-Se) as a Potential Chemopreventive Agent with Reduced Risk of Selenium Toxicity: Comparison with Se-Methylselenocysteine in Mice

Jinsong Zhang1, Xufang Wang and Tongwen Xu

University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230052, Anhui, P.R. China

1 To whom correspondence should be addressed at School of Chemistry and Material Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Southern Campus, Meiling Avenue No. 121, Hefei 230052, Anhui, P.R. China. Fax: +86-551-3492386. E-mail: zjszyzzc{at}mail.hf.ah.cn.

Received April 5, 2007; accepted August 6, 2007


  Abstract

Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element with a narrow margin between beneficial and toxic effects. As a promising chemopreventive agent, its use requires consumption over the long term, so the toxicity of Se is always a crucial concern. Based on clinical findings and recent studies in selenoprotein gene-modified mice, it is likely that the antioxidant function of one or more selenoproteins is responsible for the chemopreventive effect of Se. Furthermore, upregulation of phase 2 enzymes by Se has been implicated as a possible chemopreventive mechanism at supranutritional dietary levels. Se-methylselenocysteine (SeMSC), a naturally occurring organic Se product, is considered as one of the most effective chemopreventive selenocompounds. The present study revealed that, as compared with SeMSC, elemental Se at nano size (Nano-Se) possessed equal efficacy in increasing the activities of glutathione peroxidase, thioredoxin reductase, and glutathione S-transferase, but had much lower toxicity as indicated by median lethal dose, acute liver injury, survival rate, and short-term toxicity. Our results suggest that Nano-Se can serve as a potential chemopreventive agent with reduced risk of Se toxicity.

Key Words: Nano-Se; Se-methylselenocysteine; toxicity; bioavailability; selenoenzymes; glutathione S-transferase.


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