Visit our Expo - Redox and Inflammation signaling 2012

Session XII : Cell death and neurodegenerative diseases Poster XII, 11
Selenium supplementation acting through the induction of specific selenoproteins
protects microglial cells from damage by hydrogen peroxide
Lisa Dalla Puppa1, Nicolai E. Savaskan2, Anja U. Bräuer3, Dietrich Behne1 and
Antonios Kyriakopoulos1.
1Hahn-Meitner-Institute, Department of Molecular Trace Element Research in the Life
Sciences, Glienicker Str. 100, 14109 Berlin, Germany (e-mail: dallapuppa@hmi.de)
2Division of Cellular Biochemistry, The Netherlands Cancer Institute (NKI),
Plesmanlaan 121, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands
3Institute of Cell Biology and Neurobiology, Center for Anatomy Charité-University
Medical School Berlin, Phillipstr. 12, 10115 Berlin, Germany
Activation of glia has been observed in numerous central nervous system pathologies, like
brain infections, neurodegenerative diseases, inflammation, ischemia and normal aging. A
hallmark of such pathologies is the activation of microglia cells (the resident macrophage of
the brain) that produce neurotoxic factors such as cytokines, reactive oxygen species (ROS),
nitric oxide, which contribute to neuronal injury.
In the present study, we demonstrate that the trace element selenium, added as sodium
selenite, repressed the damage induced by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on microglial BV2
cells. Selenium is known to play a critical role in the central nervous system in addition to
acting as an essential nutrient for general body functions. Selenium is specifically
incorporated as the amino acid selenocysteine into numerous selenoproteins which are mainly
involved in antioxidant processes and redox status. It could therefore be assumed that
selenium, added as selenite, inhibits microglial activation via the expression of specific
selenoproteins. Here we report that selenium has a protective effect on cell viability of BV2
treated with H2O2. It reduces also the intracellular ROS production and inhibits the induced
apoptosis. We further applied 75Se-selenite in order to assess the expression of selenoproteins
and we used siRNA technology to identify protective selenoproteins in microglia.
This project was supported by the German Research Council DFG: Priority Program
Selenoproteins 1087.
- 469 -