Calcium uptake and ATPase activity of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles isolated from control and selenium deficient lambs.

The calcium uptake and ATPase activity were studied using fragmented sarcoplasmic reticulum (FSR) vesicles from normal and selenium (vitamin E)--deficient lambs. The latter group was suffering from white muscle disease (WMD). The calcium uptake of FSR vesicles from muscle of WMD lambs was reduced 10-fold as compared to those from normal lambs. An inverse relationship was found with the calcium uptake ability of the FSR vesicles and the severity of WMD. ATPase activity was nonsignificantly lower in vesicles from WMD lambs. The most active FSR vesicles from both normal and WMD lambs banded at 27% when purified on linear sucrose density gradients. The number of protein bands appearing in acrylamide gels of the purified vesicles appeared to be directly proportional to the severity of WMD. The 75Se cosedimented with the calcium uptake and ATPase activity when FSR vesicles from a lamb injected with 75Se-selenite were subjected to linear sucrose density gradient centrifugation, suggesting that selenium is incorporated into these vesicles. Injection of selenium into WMD lambs resulted in significantly greater calcium uptake activity in vesicles 18 and 38 days later as compared with untreated WMD lambs. Injection of selenium in WMD lambs resulted in a marked decrease in plasma CPK activity and a significant increase of glutathione peroxidase activity in the blood.