TY - THES A1 - Drobyshev, Evgenii T1 - Toxic or beneficial? What is the role of food-relevant selenium species selenoneine? T1 - Giftig oder nützlich? Welche Rolle spielt die lebensmittelrelevante Selenspezies Selenonein? N2 - Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element that is ubiquitously present in the environment in small concentrations. Essential functions of Se in the human body are manifested through the wide range of proteins, containing selenocysteine as their active center. Such proteins are called selenoproteins which are found in multiple physiological processes like antioxidative defense and the regulation of thyroid hormone functions. Therefore, Se deficiency is known to cause a broad spectrum of physiological impairments, especially in endemic regions with low Se content. Nevertheless, being an essential trace element, Se could exhibit toxic effects, if its intake exceeds tolerable levels. Accordingly, this range between deficiency and overexposure represents optimal Se supply. However, this range was found to be narrower than for any other essential trace element. Together with significantly varying Se concentrations in soil and the presence of specific bioaccumulation factors, this represents a noticeable difficulty in the assessment of Se epidemiological status. While Se is acting in the body through multiple selenoproteins, its intake occurs mainly in form of small organic or inorganic molecular mass species. Thus, Se exposure not only depends on daily intake but also on the respective chemical form, in which it is present. The essential functions of selenium have been known for a long time and its primary forms in different food sources have been described. Nevertheless, analytical capabilities for a comprehensive investigation of Se species and their derivatives have been introduced only in the last decades. A new Se compound was identified in 2010 in the blood and tissues of bluefin tuna. It was called selenoneine (SeN) since it is an isologue of naturally occurring antioxidant ergothioneine (ET), where Se replaces sulfur. In the following years, SeN was identified in a number of edible fish species and attracted attention as a new dietary Se source and potentially strong antioxidant. Studies in populations whose diet largely relies on fish revealed that SeN represents the main non-protein bound Se pool in their blood. First studies, conducted with enriched fish extracts, already demonstrated the high antioxidative potential of SeN and its possible function in the detoxification of methylmercury in fish. Cell culture studies demonstrated, that SeN can utilize the same transporter as ergothioneine, and SeN metabolite was found in human urine. Until recently, studies on SeN properties were severely limited due to the lack of ways to obtain the pure compound. As a predisposition to this work was firstly a successful approach to SeN synthesis in the University of Graz, utilizing genetically modified yeasts. In the current study, by use of HepG2 liver carcinoma cells, it was demonstrated, that SeN does not cause toxic effectsup to 100 μM concentration in hepatocytes. Uptake experiments showed that SeN is not bioavailable to the used liver cells. In the next part a blood-brain barrier (BBB) model, based on capillary endothelial cells from the porcine brain, was used to describe the possible transfer of SeN into the central nervous system (CNS). The assessment of toxicity markers in these endothelial cells and monitoring of barrier conditions during transfer experiments demonstrated the absence of toxic effects from SeN on the BBB endothelium up to 100 μM concentration. Transfer data for SeN showed slow but substantial transfer. A statistically significant increase was observed after 48 hours following SeN incubation from the blood-facing side of the barrier. However, an increase in Se content was clearly visible already after 6 hours of incubation with 1 μM of SeN. While the transfer rate of SeN after application of 0.1 μM dose was very close to that for 1 μM, incubation with 10 μM of SeN resulted in a significantly decreased transfer rate. Double-sided application of SeN caused no side-specific transfer of SeN, thus suggesting a passive diffusion mechanism of SeN across the BBB. This data is in accordance with animal studies, where ET accumulation was observed in the rat brain, even though rat BBB does not have the primary ET transporter – OCTN1. Investigation of capillary endothelial cell monolayers after incubation with SeN and reference selenium compounds showed no significant increase of intracellular selenium concentration. Speciesspecific Se measurements in medium samples from apical and basolateral compartments, as good as in cell lysates, showed no SeN metabolization. Therefore, it can be concluded that SeN may reach the brain without significant transformation. As the third part of this work, the assessment of SeN antioxidant properties was performed in Caco-2 human colorectal adenocarcinoma cells. Previous studies demonstrated that the intestinal epithelium is able to actively transport SeN from the intestinal lumen to the blood side and accumulate SeN. Further investigation within current work showed a much higher antioxidant potential of SeN compared to ET. The radical scavenging activity after incubation with SeN was close to the one observed for selenite and selenomethionine. However, the SeN effect on the viability of intestinal cells under oxidative conditions was close to the one caused by ET. To answer the question if SeN is able to be used as a dietary Se source and induce the activity of selenoproteins, the activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and the secretion of selenoprotein P (SelenoP) were measured in Caco-2 cells, additionally. As expected, reference selenium compounds selenite and selenomethionine caused efficient induction of GPx activity. In contrast to those SeN had no effect on GPx activity. To examine the possibility of SeN being embedded into the selenoproteome, SelenoP was measured in a culture medium. Even though Caco-2 cells effectively take up SeN in quantities much higher than selenite or selenomethionine, no secretion of SelenoP was observed after SeN incubation. Summarizing, we can conclude that SeN can hardly serve as a Se source for selenoprotein synthesis. However, SeN exhibit strong antioxidative properties, which appear when sulfur in ET is exchanged by Se. Therefore, SeN is of particular interest for research not as part of Se metabolism, but important endemic dietary antioxidant. N2 - Selen (Se) ist ein essentielles Spurenelement, das in geringen Konzentrationen ubiquitär in der Umwelt vorkommt. Essentielle Funktionen von Se im menschlichen Körper manifestieren sich in einer Vielzahl von Proteinen, die Selenocystein als aktives Zentrum enthalten. Solche Proteine werden Selenoproteine genannt, die in zahlreichen physiologischen Prozessen wie der antioxidativen Abwehr und der Regulierung der Schilddrüsenhormonfunktionen vorkommen. Daher ist bekannt, dass ein Se-Mangel ein breites Spektrum physiologischer Beeinträchtigungen verursacht, insbesondere in solchen Regionen mit niedrigem Se-Bodengahlten. Dennoch kann Se als essentielles Spurenelement auch toxische Wirkungen entfalten, wenn seine Aufnahme das tolerierbare Maß überschreitet. Dementsprechend stellt dieser Bereich zwischen Mangel und Überbelichtung eine optimale Se-Versorgung dar. Dieser Bereich erwies sich jedoch als enger als bei jedem anderen essentiellen Spurenelement. Zusammen mit stark schwankenden SeKonzentrationen im Boden und dem Vorliegen spezifischer Bioakkumulationsfaktoren stellt dies eine deutliche Schwierigkeit bei der Beurteilung des epidemiologischen Selenstatus dar. Während im Körper mehrere Selenoproteine vorliegen, erfolgt seine Aufnahme hauptsächlich in Form kleiner organischer oder anorganischer Moleküle. Somit hängt die Se-Exposition nicht nur von der täglichen Aufnahme ab, sondern auch von der jeweiligen chemischen Form, in der es vorliegt. Die essentiellen Funktionen von Selen sind seit langem bekannt und seine Primärformen in verschiedenen Nahrungsquellen dominierenden Formen wurden bereits gut beschrieben. Dennoch wurden erst in den letzten Jahrzehnten neue analytische Möglichkeiten für eine umfassendere Untersuchung von Se-Spezies und ihren Derivaten entwickelt. Beispielsweise wurde 2010 eine neue Se-Verbindung im Blut und im Gewebe von Rotem Thunfisch identifiziert. Es wurde Selenonein (SeN) genannt, da es ein Isolog des natürlich vorkommenden Antioxidans Ergothionein (ET) ist, bei dem Se durch Schwefel ersetzt ist. In den folgenden Jahren wurde SeN in einer Reihe von essbaren Fischarten identifiziert und erregte einerseits als neue Nahrungsquelle für Se und andererseits als potenziell starkes Antioxidans Aufmerksamkeit. Studien an Probanden, deren Ernährung hauptsächlich von Fisch geprägt ist, haben gezeigt, dass SeN den hauptsächlichen nicht-proteingebundenen Se-Pool in ihrem Blut darstellt. Erste Studien mit angereicherten Fischextrakten zeigten bereits das hohe antioxidative Potenzial von SeN und seine mögliche Funktion bei der Entgiftung von Methylquecksilber im Fisch. Zellkulturstudien zeigten, dass SeN den gleichen Transporter wie Ergothionein nutzen kann und ein weiterer SeN-Metabolit wurde im menschlichen Urin gefunden. Bis vor kurzem waren Studien zu den Eigenschaften von SeN aufgrund fehlender Möglichkeiten, die reine Verbindung zu erwerben, stark eingeschränkt. Als wichtige Grundlage für die vorliegende Arbeit diente zunächst die erfolgreiche Synthese des SeN, welche an der Universität Graz unter Verwendung gentechnisch veränderter Hefen erfolgte. In der aktuellen Studie wurde unter Verwendung von HepG2-Leberkarzinomzellen gezeigt, dass SeN in physiologisch relevanten Konzentrationen keine toxischen Effekte in diesen Hepatozyten induziert. Bioverfügbarkeitsexperimente zeigten, dass SeN für die verwendeten Leberzellen nicht bioverfügbar ist. Im nächsten Teil wurde ein Modell der Blut-Hirn-Schranke (BHS) verwendet, das auf kapillaren Endothelzellen aus dem Schweinehirn basiert, um den möglichen Transfer von SeN in das zentrale Nervensystem (ZNS) zu untersuchen. Die Bewertung von Toxizitätsmarkern in diesen Endothelzellen und die online Überwachung der Barriere-Bedingungen während der Transferexperimente zeigten, dass bei physiologisch relevanten Konzentrationen keine toxischen Wirkungen von SeN auf das BHS-Endothel auftreten. Daten bezüglich des Übergangs der Selenspezies SeN zeigten zwar eine langsame, jedoch eine nicht zu vernachlässigenden Menge, die die Barriere passieren kann. Die gleichzeitige Inkubation von SeN auf beiden Barriere-Seiten verursachte keinen seitenspezifischen Transfer von SeN, was auf einen passiven Diffusionsmechanismus von SeN über die BHS hindeutet. Diese Daten stimmen mit Tierstudien überein, in denen eine ET-Akkumulation im Rattengehirn beobachtet wurde, obwohl die BHS der Ratte nicht über den primären ET-Transporter – OCTN1 – verfügt. Die Untersuchung von Monolayern aus kapillaren Endothelzellen nach Inkubation mit SeN und Referenzselenverbindungen zeigte keinen signifikanten Anstieg der intrazellulären Selenkonzentration. Speziesspezifische Se-Messungen in Mediumproben aus den apikalen und basolateralen Kompartimenten, sowie in den Zelllysaten zeigten keine SeN-Metabolisierung. Daraus kann geschlossen werden, dass SeN das Gehirn ohne signifikante Transformation erreichen kann. Als dritter Teil dieser Arbeit wurde die Bewertung der antioxidativen Eigenschaften von SeN in menschlichen Caco-2, also kolorektale Adenokarzinomzellen, durchgeführt. Frühere Studien zeigten, dass das Darmepithel in der Lage ist, SeN aktiv vom Darmlumen zur Blutseite zu transportieren und dort SeN anzureichern. Weitere Untersuchungen im Rahmen der aktuellen Arbeiten zeigten ein viel höheres antioxidatives Potenzial von SeN im Vergleich zu ET. Die Aktivität als Radikalfänger nach Inkubation mit SeN war ähnlich wie bei Selenit und Selenomethionin. Wobei die Wirkung von SeN auf die Lebensfähigkeit von Darmzellen unter oxidativen Bedingungen jedoch ähnlich der durch ET verursachten war. Um die Frage zu beantworten, ob SeN als diätetische Se-Quelle verwendet werden kann um die Aktivität von Selenoproteinen zu induzieren, wurden zusätzlich die Aktivität der Glutathionperoxidase (GPx) und die Sekretion von Selenoprotein P (SelenoP) in Caco-2-Zellen gemessen. Wie erwartet, bewirkten die Referenz-Selenverbindungen Selenit und Selenomethionin eine effiziente Induktion der GPx-Aktivität, im Gegensatz zu diesen hatte SeN keinen Einfluss auf die GPx-Aktivität. Um die Möglichkeit einer Einbettung von SeN in das Selenoproteom zu untersuchen, wurde SelenoP im Kulturmedium gemessen. Obwohl Caco-2-Zellen SeN effektiv in viel höherenMengen als Selenit oder Selenomethionin aufnehmen, wurde nach der SeN-Inkubation keine Sekretion von SelenoP beobachtet. Zusammenfassend können wir schlussfolgern, dass SeN kaum als Se-Quelle für die Selenoproteinsynthese dienen kann. SeN weist jedoch starke antioxidative Eigenschaften auf, die auftreten, wenn Schwefel in ET durch Se ausgetauscht wird. Daher ist SeN von besonderem Interesse für die Forschung, nicht als Teil des Se-Stoffwechsels, sondern als wichtiges endemisches diätetisches Antioxidans. KW - selenium KW - selenoneine KW - HepG2 KW - Caco-2 KW - PBCEC KW - Caco-2 KW - HepG2 KW - PBCEC KW - Selen KW - Selenonein Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-573794 ER - TY - THES A1 - Raschke, Stefanie T1 - Characterization of selenium and copper in cell systems of the neurovascular unit T1 - Charakterisierung von Selen und Kupfer in Zellsystemen der neurovaskulären Einheit N2 - The trace elements, selenium (Se) and copper (Cu) play an important role in maintaining normal brain function. Since they have essential functions as cofactors of enzymes or structural components of proteins, an optimal supply as well as a well-defined homeostatic regulation are crucial. Disturbances in trace element homeostasis affect the health status and contribute to the incidence and severity of various diseases. The brain in particular is vulnerable to oxidative stress due to its extensive oxygen consumption and high energy turnover, among other factors. As components of a number of antioxidant enzymes, both elements are involved in redox homeostasis. However, high concentrations are also associated with the occurrence of oxidative stress, which can induce cellular damage. Especially high Cu concentrations in some brain areas are associated with the development and progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). In contrast, reduced Se levels were measured in brains of AD patients. The opposing behavior of Cu and Se renders the study of these two trace elements as well as the interactions between them being particularly relevant and addressed in this work. N2 - Die Spurenelemente Selen (Se) und Kupfer (Cu) spielen eine wichtige Rolle bei der Aufrechterhaltung einer normalen Ge¬hirnfunktion. Da sie wesentliche Funktionen als Cofaktoren von Enzymen oder Strukturbestandteile von Proteinen haben, sind eine optimale Versorgung sowie eine genau definierte homöostatische Regulierung von entscheidender Bedeutung. Störungen der Spurenelement-homöostase beeinträchtigen den Gesund¬heitszustand und tragen zum Auftreten und zur Schwere verschiedener Krankheiten bei. Insbesondere das Gehirn ist aufgrund seines hohen Sauerstoffverbrauchs und seines hohen Energieumsatzes anfällig für oxi¬dativen Stress. Als Bestandteile einer Reihe von antioxidativen Enzymen sind beide Elemente an der Redox-Homöostase beteiligt. Hohe Konzentrationen werden jedoch auch mit dem Auftreten von oxidati¬vem Stress in Verbindung gebracht, der zu Zellschäden führen kann. Besonders hohe Cu-Konzentrationen in einigen Hirnregionen werden mit der Entwicklung und der Progression neurodegenerativer Erkran¬kungen wie Alzheimer in Verbindung gebracht. Im Gegensatz dazu wurden in den Gehirnen von Alzheimer-Patienten geringere Se-Konzentrationen gemessen. Das gegensätzliche Verhalten von Cu und Se verdeutlicht die Relevanz der Untersuchung dieser beiden Spurenelemente sowie deren Wechselwirkungen und wird in dieser Arbeit thematisiert. KW - selenium KW - copper KW - Selen KW - Kupfer KW - Blut-Hirn-Schranke KW - Neuronen KW - Astrozyten KW - blood-brain barrier KW - neurons KW - astrocytes Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-603666 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Solovyev, Nikolay A1 - Drobyshev, Evgenii A1 - Blume, Bastian A1 - Michalke, Bernhard T1 - Selenium at the neural barriers BT - a review JF - Frontiers in neuroscience / Frontiers Research Foundation N2 - Selenium (Se) is known to contribute to several vital physiological functions in mammals: antioxidant defense, fertility, thyroid hormone metabolism, and immune response. Growing evidence indicates the crucial role of Se and Se-containing selenoproteins in the brain and brain function. As for the other essential trace elements, dietary Se needs to reach effective concentrations in the central nervous system (CNS) to exert its functions. To do so, Se-species have to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and/or blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCB) of the choroid plexus. The main interface between the general circulation of the body and the CNS is the BBB. Endothelial cells of brain capillaries forming the so-called tight junctions are the primary anatomic units of the BBB, mainly responsible for barrier function. The current review focuses on Se transport to the brain, primarily including selenoprotein P/low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 8 (LRP8, also known as apolipoprotein E receptor-2) dependent pathway, and supplementary transport routes of Se into the brain via low molecular weight Se-species. Additionally, the potential role of Se and selenoproteins in the BBB, BCB, and neurovascular unit (NVU) is discussed. Finally, the perspectives regarding investigating the role of Se and selenoproteins in the gut-brain axis are outlined. KW - selenium KW - selenoprotein P KW - low molecular weight selenium species KW - blood– cerebrospinal fluid barrier KW - blood– brain barrier KW - selenium transport KW - brain-gut axis KW - LRP8 Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2021.630016 SN - 1662-453X VL - 15 PB - Frontiers Media CY - Lausanne ER - TY - GEN A1 - Schwarz, Maria A1 - Lossow, Kristina A1 - Kopp, Johannes F. A1 - Schwerdtle, Tanja A1 - Kipp, Anna Patricia T1 - Crosstalk of Nrf2 with the Trace Elements Selenium, Iron, Zinc, and Copper T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Trace elements, like Cu, Zn, Fe, or Se, are important for the proper functioning of antioxidant enzymes. However, in excessive amounts, they can also act as pro-oxidants. Accordingly, trace elements influence redox-modulated signaling pathways, such as the Nrf2 pathway. Vice versa, Nrf2 target genes belong to the group of transport and metal binding proteins. In order to investigate whether Nrf2 directly regulates the systemic trace element status, we used mice to study the effect of a constitutive, whole-body Nrf2 knockout on the systemic status of Cu, Zn, Fe, and Se. As the loss of selenoproteins under Se-deprived conditions has been described to further enhance Nrf2 activity, we additionally analyzed the combination of Nrf2 knockout with feeding diets that provide either suboptimal, adequate, or supplemented amounts of Se. Experiments revealed that the Nrf2 knockout partially affected the trace element concentrations of Cu, Zn, Fe, or Se in the intestine, liver, and/or plasma. However, aside from Fe, the other three trace elements were only marginally modulated in an Nrf2-dependent manner. Selenium deficiency mainly resulted in increased plasma Zn levels. One putative mediator could be the metal regulatory transcription factor 1, which was up-regulated with an increasing Se supply and downregulated in Se-supplemented Nrf2 knockout mice. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1081 KW - Nrf2 KW - selenium KW - iron KW - copper KW - zinc KW - homeostasis Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-472873 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 1081 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schwarz, Maria A1 - Lossow, Kristina A1 - Kopp, Johannes Florian A1 - Schwerdtle, Tanja A1 - Kipp, Anna Patricia T1 - Crosstalk of Nrf2 with the Trace Elements Selenium, Iron, Zinc, and Copper JF - Nutrients N2 - Trace elements, like Cu, Zn, Fe, or Se, are important for the proper functioning of antioxidant enzymes. However, in excessive amounts, they can also act as pro-oxidants. Accordingly, trace elements influence redox-modulated signaling pathways, such as the Nrf2 pathway. Vice versa, Nrf2 target genes belong to the group of transport and metal binding proteins. In order to investigate whether Nrf2 directly regulates the systemic trace element status, we used mice to study the effect of a constitutive, whole-body Nrf2 knockout on the systemic status of Cu, Zn, Fe, and Se. As the loss of selenoproteins under Se-deprived conditions has been described to further enhance Nrf2 activity, we additionally analyzed the combination of Nrf2 knockout with feeding diets that provide either suboptimal, adequate, or supplemented amounts of Se. Experiments revealed that the Nrf2 knockout partially affected the trace element concentrations of Cu, Zn, Fe, or Se in the intestine, liver, and/or plasma. However, aside from Fe, the other three trace elements were only marginally modulated in an Nrf2-dependent manner. Selenium deficiency mainly resulted in increased plasma Zn levels. One putative mediator could be the metal regulatory transcription factor 1, which was up-regulated with an increasing Se supply and downregulated in Se-supplemented Nrf2 knockout mice. KW - Nrf2 KW - selenium KW - iron KW - copper KW - zinc KW - homeostasis Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11092112 SN - 2072-6643 VL - 11 IS - 9 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Rohn, Isabelle A1 - Raschke, Stefanie A1 - Aschner, Michael A1 - Tuck, Simon A1 - Kuehnelt, Doris A1 - Kipp, Anna Patricia A1 - Schwerdtle, Tanja A1 - Bornhorst, Julia T1 - Treatment of caenorhabditis elegans with small selenium species enhances antioxidant defense systems JF - Molecular nutrition & food research : bioactivity, chemistry, immunology, microbiology, safety, technology N2 - ScopeSmall selenium (Se) species play a key role in Se metabolism and act as dietary sources of the essential trace element. However, they are redox-active and trigger pro- and antioxidant responses. As health outcomes are strongly species-dependent, species-specific characteristics of Se compounds are tested in vivo. Methods and resultsIn the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), immediate and sustained effects of selenite, selenomethionine (SeMet), and Se-methylselenocysteine (MeSeCys) are studied regarding their bioavailability, incorporation into proteins, as well as modulation of the cellular redox status. While all tested Se compounds are bioavailable, only SeMet persistently accumulates and is non-specifically incorporated into proteins. However, the protection toward chemically-induced formation of reactive species is independent of the applied Se compound. Increased thioredoxin reductase (TXNRD) activity and changes in mRNA expression levels of antioxidant proteins indicate the activation of cellular defense mechanisms. However, in txnrd-1 deletion mutants, no protective effects of the Se species are observed anymore, which is also reflected by differential gene expression data. ConclusionSe species protect against chemically-induced reactive species formation. The identified immediate and sustained systemic effects of Se species give rise to speculations on possible benefits facing subsequent periods of inadequate Se intake. KW - antioxidant defense systems KW - caenorhabditis elegans KW - selenium KW - oxidative stress KW - selenoproteins Y1 - 2019 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/mnfr.201801304 SN - 1613-4125 SN - 1613-4133 VL - 63 IS - 9 PB - Wiley CY - Hoboken ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Wiesner-Reinhold, Melanie A1 - Schreiner, Monika A1 - Baldermann, Susanne A1 - Schwarz, Dietmar A1 - Hanschen, Franziska S. A1 - Kipp, Anna Patricia A1 - Rowan, Daryl D. A1 - Bentley-Hewitt, Kerry L. A1 - McKenzie, Marian J. T1 - Mechanisms of Selenium Enrichment and Measurement in Brassicaceous Vegetables, and Their Application to Human Health JF - Frontiers in plant science N2 - Selenium (Se) is an essential micronutrient for human health. Se deficiency affects hundreds of millions of people worldwide, particularly in developing countries, and there is increasing awareness that suboptimal supply of Se can also negatively affect human health. Selenium enters the diet primarily through the ingestion of plant and animal products. Although, plants are not dependent on Se they take it up from the soil through the sulphur (S) uptake and assimilation pathways. Therefore, geographic differences in the availability of soil Se and agricultural practices have a profound influence on the Se content of many foods, and there are increasing efforts to biofortify crop plants with Se. Plants from the Brassicales are of particular interest as they accumulate and synthesize Se into forms with additional health benefits, such as methylselenocysteine (MeSeCys). The Brassicaceae are also well-known to produce the glucosinolates; S-containing compounds with demonstrated human health value. Furthermore, the recent discovery of the selenoglucosinolates in the Brassicaceae raises questions regarding their potential bioefficacy. In this review we focus on Se uptake and metabolism in the Brassicaceae in the context of human health, particularly cancer prevention and immunity. We investigate the close relationship between Se and S metabolism in this plant family, with particular emphasis on the selenoglucosinolates, and consider the methodologies available for identifying and quantifying further novel Se-containing compounds in plants. Finally, we summarize the research of multiple groups investigating biofortification of the Brassicaceae and discuss which approaches might be most successful for supplying Se deficient populations in the future. KW - Brassica vegetables KW - selenium KW - biofortification KW - glucosinolates KW - human health KW - immune system KW - cancer KW - analytical methods Y1 - 2017 U6 - https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2017.01365 SN - 1664-462X VL - 8 PB - Frontiers Research Foundation CY - Lausanne ER -