title: Metabolic changes associated with selenium deficiency in mice.
abstract: Selenium (Se), which is a central component for the biosynthesis and functionality of selenoproteins, plays an important role in the anti-oxidative response, reproduction, thyroid hormone metabolism and the protection from infection and inflammation. However, dietary Se effects have not well been established to date and the available studies often present contradictory results. To obtain a better understanding of Se intake and its influence on the metabolism of living systems, we have utilized a metabolomics approach to gain insight into the specific metabolic alterations caused by Se deficiency in mice. Serum samples were collected from two groups of C57BL/6 mice: an experimental group which was fed a Se-deficient diet and controls consuming normal chow. The samples were analyzed by (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The resulting metabolite data were examined separately for both analytical methods and in a combined manner. By applying multivariate statistical analysis we were able to distinguish the two groups and detect a metabolite pattern associated with Se deficiency. We found that the concentrations of 15 metabolites significantly changed in serum samples collected from Se-deficient mice when compared to the controls. Many of the perturbed biological pathways pointed towards compensatory mechanisms during Se deficiency and were associated with amino acid metabolism. Our findings show that a metabolomics approach may be applied to identify the metabolic impact of Se and reveal the most impaired biological pathways as well as induced regulatory mechanisms during Se deficiency.
authors.affiliation: Bio-NMR-Centre, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Dr. NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada.
authors.forename: Beata
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mickiewicz
authors.forename: Michelle L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Villemaire
authors.forename: Linda E
authors.initials: LE
authors.lastname: Sandercock
authors.forename: Frank R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Jirik
authors.forename: Hans J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Vogel
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D019906:Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D011773:Pyruvates / Q000378:metabolism; D012643:Selenium / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000378:metabolism; D051140:Selenoproteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D000975:Antioxidants; D011773:Pyruvates; D051140:Selenoproteins; D012643:Selenium