Alleviation of Lipid Disorder and Liver Damage in High-Fat Diet-Induced Obese Mice by Selenium-Enriched with Cadmium Accumulation.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: As a hyperaccumulator of selenium (Se), () and its peptide extract could ameliorate the negative effects of a high-fat diet (HFD). However, the effects of the coaccumulation of cadmium (Cd) in Se-enriched () and the potential confounding effect on the roles of enriched Se remain unknown. We aimed to investigate whether could alleviate HFD-induced lipid disorder and liver damage.

METHODS

Three groups of 31-week-old female mice were fed for 41 weeks ( = 10-12) with a control -supplemented diet (D, 0.15 mg Se/kg, 30 µg Cd/kg, and 10% fat calories), a control -supplemented HFD (HFD, 45% fat calories), and a -supplemented HFD (HFD, 1.5 mg Se/kg, 0.29 mg Cd/kg, and 45% fat calories). Liver and serum were collected to determine the element concentrations, markers of liver injury and lipid disorder, and mRNA and/or protein expression of lipid metabolism factors, heavy metal detoxification factors, and selenoproteins.

RESULTS

Both HFD and HFD induced obesity, and HFD downregulated Selenoi and upregulated Dio3 compared with D. When comparing HFD against HFD, increased the liver Se and Cd, the protein abundance of Selenoh, and the mRNA abundance of 10 selenoproteins; reduced the serum TG, TC, and AST; reduced the liver TG, lipid droplets, malondialdehyde, and mRNA abundance of and ; and differentially regulated the mRNA levels of lipid metabolism factors.

CONCLUSIONS

alleviated HFD-induced lipid dysregulation and liver damage, which was probably associated with its unique Se speciation. However, further research is needed to explore the interaction of plant-coenriched Se and Cd and its effects on health.