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ARS Home » Plains Area » Grand Forks, North Dakota » Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center » Dietary Prevention of Obesity-related Disease Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #269667

Title: Effect of dietary selenium and cancer cell xenograft on peripheral T and B lymphocytes in adult nude mice

Author
item CHENG, WEN-HSING - University Of Maryland
item HOLMSTROM, ALEXANDRA - University Of Maryland
item LI, XIANGDONG - University Of Maryland
item WU, RYAN - University Of Maryland
item Zeng, Huawei
item XIAO, ZHENGGUO - University Of Maryland

Submitted to: Biological Trace Element Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/6/2011
Publication Date: 5/1/2012
Citation: Cheng, W., Holmstrom, A., Li, X., Wu, R.T., Zeng, H., Xiao, Z. 2012. Effect of dietary selenium and cancer cell xenograft on peripheral T and B lymphocytes in adult nude mice. Biological Trace Element Research. 146:230-235.

Interpretive Summary: Suboptimal Selenium (Se) intake has been implicated in viral infections, male infertility, depressed immunity, and higher risk of cancer incidence. Selenium is known to regulate carcinogenesis and immunity at nutritional and supranutritional levels, and a strong body of evidence indicates interactions among Se, cancer and immunity. In this study, we asked whether B and T cell maturation could be modulated by dietary Se and by tumorigenesis in nude mice. Peripheral B cell levels decreased in nude mice fed the Se- or Se++ diet, and the CD4+ T cell levels increased in mice fed the Se++ diet. During the PC-3 cell tumorigenesis, dietary Se status did not affect peripheral CD4+ or CD8+ T cells in nude mice whereas mice fed with the Se++ diet appeared to exhibit greater peripheral CD25+CD4+ T cells on Day 9. Taken together, our findings suggest that peripheral B cells can be suppressed by dietary Se deficiency or supranutritional Se, and supranutritional Se may activate CD25+CD4+ T cell expression in mice after tumor xenograft. The information will be useful for scientists and health-care professionals who are interested in using selenium as a nutrient and cancer prevention.

Technical Abstract: Selenium (Se) is known to regulate tumorigenesis and immunity at nutritional and supranutritional levels. Because the immune system provides critical defenses against cancer and the athymic, immune-deficient NU/J nude mice are known to gradually develop CD8+ and CD4+ T cells, we asked whether B and T cell maturation could be modulated by dietary Se and by tumorigenesis in nude mice. Fifteen homozygous nude mice were fed a Se-deficient, Torula yeast basal diet alone (Se-) or supplemented with 0.15 (Se+) or 1.0 (Se++) mg Se/kg (as Na2SeO4) for 6 months, followed by a 7-week time course of PC-3 prostate cancer cell xenograft (2 x 106 cells/site, 2 sites/mouse). Here, we show that peripheral B cell levels decreased in nude mice fed the Se- or Se++ diet, and the CD4+ T cell levels increased in mice fed the Se++ diet. During the PC-3 cell tumorigenesis, dietary Se status did not affect peripheral CD4+ or CD8+ T cells in nude mice whereas mice fed with the Se++ diet appeared to exhibit greater peripheral CD25+CD4+ T cells on Day 9. Dietary Se status did not affect spleen weight in nude mice 7 weeks after the xenograft. Spleen weight was associated with frequency of peripheral CD4+, but not CD8+ T cells. Taken together, dietary Se at the nutritional and supranutritional levels regulates peripheral B and T cells in adult nude mice before and after xenograft with PC-3 prostate cancer cells.