Selenium

More on supplements.....

Cancer prevention studies suggest that selenium is effective in reducing the incidence of cancers including prostate, colon, and lung cancers. Previous reports showed that selenium inhibits premalignant human breast MCF-10AT1 and MCF10AT3B cell growth in vitro and reduces mammary tumor incidence after exposure to carcinogens in tumor models. Because estrogen is critical to the development and differentiation of estrogen target tissues, including the breast, the present study was designed to examine the effect of selenium on estrogen receptor (ER) expression and activation using methylseleninic acid (MSA), an active form of selenium in vitro. Selenium decreased the levels of expression of ER mRNA and protein and reduced the binding of labeled estradiol to estrogen receptor in MCF-7 cells. Selenium inhibited the trans-activating activity of estrogen receptor in MCF-7 cells expressing functional estrogen receptor using a luciferase reporter construct linked to estrogen responsive element. Selenium decreased the binding of estrogen receptor to the estrogen responsive element site using an electrophoretic mobility gel shift assay. Selenium suppressed estrogen induction of the endogenous target gene c-myc. In contrast to the effect on ER in MCF-7 cells, selenium increased ERß mRNA expression in MDA-MB231 human breast cancer cells. Thus, differential regulation of ER and ERß in breast cancer cells may represent a novel mechanism of selenium action and provide a rationale for selenium breast cancer prevention trial.

Al

Thanks, Al - Very interesting. I take not only the selenium I get in the Centrum Silver multivitamin, but also a small amount of supplemental selenium, although I am careful not to try to get 100% of the daily requirement since we get some in other ways. What sticks in my brain is the memory from years ago when agricultural run-off in California was found to be wiping out some bird and animal populations due to too much selenium. So I take extra, but in moderation.

A.A.