Role of Se in stabilization of human erythrocyte membrane skeleton.

Na2SeO3 supplementation in the ageing medium could protect aged erythrocyte ghosts from decreases in lipid fluidity, Na, K-ATPase activity, and sensitivity to ouabain. Results also showed that Se could obviously prevent the dissociation of spectrin from the erythrocyte membrane. Furthermore, Se could markedly promote the reassociation of spectrin with the spectrin-stripped inside out membrane vesicles(IOVs) of erythrocytes. The protective action of Se on biomembranes is generally interpreted in terms of the activity of Se-containing glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx). However, since GSHPx is mainly distributed in the cytoplasm of erythrocytes, the stabilizing effect of Se on erythrocyte membranes might not be related to the activity of this enzyme.