ABSTRACT
Background
Selenium is prioritized to the brain mainly for selenoprotein expression. Selenoprotein T (SELENOT) protects dopaminergic, postmitotic neurons in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease (PD).
Objective
We hypothesized a proliferative role of SELENOT in neural cells.
Methods
To assess SELENOT status in PD, sedated male C57BL/6 mice at 10–12 wk of age were injected with 6-hydroxydopamine in neurons, and human peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated from 9 healthy subjects (56% men, 68-y-old) and 11 subjects with PD (64% men, 63-y-old). Dopaminergic neural progenitor–like SK-N-SH cells with transient SELENOT overexpression or knockdown were maintained in the presence or absence of the antioxidant N-acetyl-l-cysteine and the calcium channel blocker nimodipine. Cell cycle, proliferation, and signaling parameters were determined by immunoblotting, qPCR, and flow cytometry.
Results
SELENOT mRNA abundance was increased (P < 0.05) in SK-N-SH cells treated with 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium iodide (3.5-fold) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells from PD patients (1.6-fold). Likewise, SELENOT was expressed in tyrosine hydroxylase–positive dopaminergic neurons of 6-hydroxydopamine–injected mice. Knockdown of SELENOT in SK-N-SH cells suppressed (54%; P < 0.05) 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine incorporation but induced (17–47%; P < 0.05) annexin V–positive cells, CASPASE-3 cleavage, and G1/S cell cycle arrest. SELENOT knockdown and overexpression increased (88–120%; P < 0.05) and reduced (37–42%; P < 0.05) both forkhead box O3 and p27, but reduced (51%; P < 0.05) and increased (1.2-fold; P < 0.05) cyclin-dependent kinase 4 protein abundance, respectively. These protein changes were diminished by nimodipine or N-acetyl-l-cysteine treatment (24 h) at steady-state levels. While the N-acetyl-l-cysteine treatment did not influence the reduction in the amount of calcium (13%; P < 0.05) by SELENOT knockdown, the nimodipine treatment reversed the decreased amount of reactive oxygen species (33%; P < 0.05) by SELENOT overexpression.
Conclusions
These cellular and mouse data link SELENOT to neural proliferation, expanding our understanding of selenium protection in PD.
Fish oil supplementation induces expression of genes related to cell cycle, endoplasmic reticulum stress and apoptosis in peripheral blood mononuclear cells: a transcriptomic approach
