Effect of selenite and selenate on rat liver nuclear 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T3) receptor.

The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of selenite (SeIV) or selenate (SeVI) on nuclear T3 receptors of rat liver. Selenite at 0.1 microM (p < 0.01) inhibited the T3 specific binding to rat liver nuclear receptors. The specific binding of the T3 receptor was fully restored when even 1.0 microM selenite was separated from the T3 receptor by gel filtration. No inhibitory effect of selenite (up to 100 microM) on the T3 binding to nuclear receptor was found in the presence of 1.0 mM dithiothreitol. The rate of dissociation of the T3-nuclear receptor complex was effectively increased by 0.1 microM selenite. Selenate up to 1 mM as well as sulfite or sulfate up to 0.1 mM did not exert an inhibitory effect on T3 receptors. The results based on the in vitro experiments suggest that the selenium in the form of selenite may reversibly affect the T3 binding on the receptor molecule.