The interactions between the essential element selenium (Se) and the toxic element lead (Pb) have been reported extensively; however, little is known about the effect of Se on Pb toxicity and the expression pattern of selenoproteins in the cartilage of chicken. To investigate the effects of Se on Pb toxicity and the messenger RNA (mRNA) expressions of selenoproteins in cartilage tissue, an in vitro study was performed on 1-day-old broiler chickens (randomly allocated into four groups) with diet of different concentration of Se and Pb. After 90 days, the meniscus cartilage and sword cartilage tissue were examined for the mRNA levels of 25 selenoprotein genes. The results showed that Se and Pb influenced the expression of selenoprotein genes in the chicken cartilage tissue. In detail, Se could alleviate the downtrend of the expression of Gpx1, Gpx2, Gpx4, Txnrd2, Txnrd3, Dio1, Dio2, Seli, Selu, Sepx1, Selk, Selw, Selo, Selm, Sep15, Sepnn1, Sels, and Selt induced by Pb exposure in the meniscus cartilage. In the sword cartilage, Se alleviated the downtrend of the expression of Gpx2, Gpx3, Gpx4, Txnrd1, Txnrd2, Dio2, Dio3, Seli, Selh, SPS2, Sepx1, Selk, Selw, Selo, Selm, Sep15, Selpb, Sepn1, and Selt induced by Pb exposure. The present study provided some compensated data about the roles of Se against Pb toxicity in the regulation of selenoprotein expression.
Keywords: Chicken cartilage; Lead; Selenium; Selenoprotein.