title: Dietary Selenium Levels Affect Selenoprotein Expression and Support the Interferon-γ and IL-6 Immune Response Pathways in Mice.
abstract: Selenium is an essential element that is required to support a number of cellular functions and biochemical pathways. The objective of this study was to examine the effects of reduced dietary selenium levels on gene expression to assess changes in expression of non-selenoprotein genes that may contribute to the physiological consequences of selenium deficiency. Mice were fed diets that were either deficient in selenium or supplemented with selenium in the form of sodium selenite for six weeks. Differences in liver mRNA expression and translation were measured using a combination of ribosome profiling, RNA-Seq, microarrays, and qPCR. Expression levels and translation of mRNAs encoding stress-related selenoproteins were shown to be up-regulated by increased selenium status, as were genes involved in inflammation and response to interferon-γ. Changes in serum cytokine levels were measured which confirmed that interferon-γ, as well as IL-6, were increased in selenium adequate mice. Finally, microarray and qPCR analysis of lung tissue demonstrated that the selenium effects on immune function are not limited to liver. These data are consistent with previous reports indicating that adequate selenium levels can support beneficial immune responses, and further identify the IL-6 and interferon-γ pathways as being responsive to dietary selenium intake.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Towson University, Towson, MD, 21252, USA. ptsuji@towson.edu.
authors.forename: Petra A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Tsuji
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology of Selenium Section, Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA. carlsonb@mail.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Bradley A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Carlson
authors.affiliation: Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA. anderson@genetics.utah.edu.
authors.forename: Christine B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.affiliation: Nutritional Science Research Group, National Cancer Institute, Rockville, MD, 20892, USA. seifrieh@mail.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Harold E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Seifried
authors.affiliation: Molecular Biology of Selenium Section, Mouse Cancer Genetics Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA. hatfield@mail.nih.gov.
authors.forename: Dolph L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Hatfield
authors.affiliation: Human Genetics, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA. mhoward@genetics.utah.edu.
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Howard
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019295:Computational Biology; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D015870:Gene Expression; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D007249:Inflammation / Q000276:immunology; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012643:Selenium / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000097:blood; D051140:Selenoproteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D018038:Sodium Selenite / Q000378:metabolism; D015854:Up-Regulation
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D051140:Selenoproteins; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D012643:Selenium; D018038:Sodium Selenite
keywords: IL-6; interferon-γ; ribosome profiling; selenium; selenocysteine; selenoprotein