Comparison of the effect of selenium Nano particles and sodium selenite on the serum and hepatic lipid profiles of rats following experimental exposure to cadmium

Introduction: Cd exposure alters cellular normal process leading to dysfunction in different organs. Several studies have reported the cardiovascular effects of Cd in human and animal models. Some studies have revealed the... [ view full abstract ]

Introduction:
Cd exposure alters cellular normal process leading to dysfunction in different organs. Several studies have reported the cardiovascular effects of Cd in human and animal models. Some studies have revealed the lipid metabolism alterations in Cd exposed human and experimental animals. Cd causes modification in the blood lipid profile toward a atherogenic condition.
Selenium is known due to its antioxidant function. The reduction of Se salts in presence of proteins forms Se nanoparticles (Nano-Se) which possess greater biological activity than ion form. It is well known that Se alleviates cadmium toxicity by preventing oxidative damage. However the effect of Se on the lipid metabolism in case of Cd toxicity has not been studied.
The aim of present work was to study the probable effect of Se in two different form (sodium selenite, Na-Se, and Nano-Se) on the lipid metabolism in Cd intoxicated rats.
Methods:
Male rats were divided in 4 different experimental groups. A control group and other rats were orally received Cd (3mg/kg b.w) alone or with red Nano-Se (20-30 nm) or Na-Se (0.1 mg/kg b.w) for 35 days. Serum and liver lipid profile were determined using standard methods.
Results:
Cd exposure increased blood and liver TG, total cholesterol, LDL-C and VLDL-C and decreased HDL-C in affected rats compared to control group. Serum and liver TG concentrations were decreased near control group by receiving both Nano-Se and Na-Se, 29% and 38% respectively. The liver total cholesterol and LDL-C contents were not affected by Na-Se while Nano-Se caused a statistically significant reduction on them. Our data revealed that receiving both forms of Se led to decrease in serum concentrations of total cholesterol and its lipoprotein containers, meanwhile, receiving Nano-Se had a relatively greater effect than Na-Se.

Discussion:
Based on our finding, Nano-Se has stronger ameliorative effects on lipid metabolism disorders in Cd intoxicated rats in comparison to Na-Se. The main mechanism of this effects were not clear. However, It is well known that biologic properties of Se Nano-Se specially antioxidant activity, are dependent on the particle size and smaller particles have greater activity.