Selenium protection against toxicity from cadmium and mercury studied at the cellular level.

Interaction between selenium and the heavy metals cadmium and mercury was studied in an experimental rat model (Sprague-Dawley). The rats were administered either one single trace element or combinations of selenium and cadmium as well as selenium and mercury. Salts of these trace elements were administered intraperitoneally daily during thirty days. Thereafter the animals were sacrificed and kidneys and livers excised rapidly. Thin sections were produced by a cryotome and subsequently freeze-dried. Nuclear microscopy of the sections showed that in the combination groups there was a co-localization of selenium and the heavy metals. None of the expected pathological signs of cadmium and mercury toxicity were observed. The conclusion was that selenium exerted a protective effect against the toxicity of cadmium and mercury through mechanisms still to be unveiled.