Selenium is an essential trace element which is incorporated in the form of a rare amino acid,\nthe selenocysteine, into an important group of proteins, the selenoproteins. Among the twenty-five\nselenoprotein genes identified to date, several have important cellular functions in antioxidant defense,\ncell signaling and redox homeostasis. Many selenoproteins are regulated by the availability of selenium\nwhich mostly occurs in the form of water-soluble molecules, either organic (selenomethionine,\nselenocysteine, and selenoproteins) or inorganic (selenate or selenite). Recently, a mixture of\nselenitriglycerides, obtained by the reaction of selenite with sunflower oil at high temperature,\nreferred to as Selol, was proposed as a novel non-toxic, highly bioavailable and active antioxidant and\nantineoplastic agent. Free selenite is not present in the final product since the two phases (water soluble\nand oil) are separated and the residual water-soluble selenite discarded. Here we compare the\nassimilation of selenium as Selol, selenite and selenate by various cancerous (LNCaP) or immortalized\n(HEK293 and PNT1A) cell lines. An approach combining analytical chemistry, molecular biology and\nbiochemistry demonstrated that selenium from Selol was efficiently incorporated in selenoproteins in\nhuman cell lines, and thus produced the first ever evidence of the bioavailability of selenium from\nselenized lipids.
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