Selenium Pretreatment Alleviated LPS-Induced Immunological Stress Via Upregulation of Several Selenoprotein Encoding Genes in Murine RAW264.7 Cells

This study was conducted to profile selenoprotein encoding genes in mouse RAW264.7 cells upon lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge and integrate their roles into immunological regulation in response to selenium (Se) pretreatment. LPS was used to develop immunological stress in macrophages. Cells were pretreated with different levels of Se (0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 μmol Se/L) for 2 h, followed by LPS (100 ng/mL) stimulation for another 3 h. The mRNA expression of 24 selenoprotein encoding genes and 9 inflammation-related genes were investigated. The results showed that LPS (100 ng/mL) effectively induced immunological stress in RAW264.7 cells with induced inflammation cytokines, IL-6 and TNF-α, mRNA expression, and cellular secretion. LPS increased ( P < 0.05) mRNA profiles of 9 inflammation-related genes in cells, while short-time Se pretreatment modestly reversed ( P < 0.05) the LPS-induced upregulation of 7 genes ( COX-2 , ICAM-1 , IL-1β , IL-6 , IL-10 , iNOS , and MCP-1 ) and further increased ( P < 0.05) expression of IFN-β and TNF-α in stressed cells. Meanwhile, LPS decreased ( P < 0.05) mRNA levels of 18 selenoprotein encoding genes and upregulated mRNA levels of TXNRD1 and TXNRD3 in cells. Se pretreatment recovered ( P < 0.05) expression of 3 selenoprotein encoding genes ( GPX1 , SELENOH , and SELENOW ) in a dose-dependent manner and increased ( P < 0.05) expression of another 5 selenoprotein encoding genes ( SELENOK , SELENOM , SELENOS , SELENOT , and TXNRD2 ) only at a high level (2.0 μmol Se/L). Taken together, LPS-induced immunological stress in RAW264.7 cells accompanied with the global downregulation of selenoprotein encoding genes and Se pretreatment alleviated immunological stress via upregulation of a subset of selenoprotein encoding genes.