Tag: Selenoprotein P

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Selenoprotein P and Heart Health

Low serum concentrations of selenoprotein P (SELENOP) are an indication of increased heart health risks. Low serum SELENOP is strongly associated with the following risks:

  • increased risk of a first cardiovascular event
  • increased risk of cardiovascular mortality
  • increased risk of all-cause mortality 
Scene from Scandinavia - a selenium-poor region.
Selenium is a scarce resource. It is a non-renewable resource. Selenium deficiency is a health problem for one half to one billion people in the world. The UK, the Nordic countries, and the Baltic countries are among the selenium-poor regions in the world.

This is the conclusion from a relatively large study of adults in Sweden. The study participants had no history of cardiovascular disease at the beginning of the study [Schomburg 2019].

There were 3,531 non-smokers and 835 smokers enrolled in the study in Sweden. At the end of the study, the study participants at increased risk of cardiovascular disease had a mean serum SELENOP level below 4.3 mg/L SELENOP. This serum concentration of SELENOP corresponds to serum selenium concentrations of less than 70 mcg/L [Schomburg 2019]. read more

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Selenium and Healthy Aging

Greater hand grip strength is associated with greater probability of healthier aging and living longer. The explanation for this positive association may be, in part, the action of proteins in the blood circulation. In particular, proteins that affect inflammation and immunity responses may be at work. One of the leading proteins positively associated with the chance for a longer and healthier life is Selenoprotein P (SELENOP) [Liu 2025].

Hand grip
Tests show that greater hand grip strength is a sign of healthy aging. Sufficient selenoprotein P status is positively associated with health aging.

SELENOP is known to be the primary transporter of selenium in the blood. It carries selenium in the form of selenocysteine from the liver to the body’s tissues and organs. In times of scarcity of selenium, SELENOP distributes the selenium in a hierarchical priority manner. The brain and the testes and the thyroid gland are high-priority recipients of selenium [Schomburg 2022]. read more

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Selenoprotein P Status and Colorectal Cancer Mortality

Selenium deficiency, especially as manifested in low circulating levels of selenoprotein P, is associated significantly with an increased risk of colorectal cancer incidence and mortality [Pal 2024; Brezina 2025]. SELENOP is a selenium-dependent glycoprotein that is the primary transporter of selenium to the tissues and organs. SELENOP also acts to reduce oxidative stress and systemic inflammation [Schöttker 2024; Brezina 2025].

Newspaper article about cancer
Colorectal cancer risk is elevated in selenium and SELENOP deficiency. Serum SELENOP concentration is perhaps the single most useful parameter for prognosis once the diagnosis has been made. SELENOP concentrations below 2.5 mg/L indicate severe deficiency. Concentrations below 5.0 mg/L suggest elevated risk.

In the Colorectal Cancer Study of Austria (CORSA Study), researchers analyzed data from 519 participants (n = 153 tumor-free controls, n = 255 patients with adenomas, and n = 111 patients with colorectal cancer). The median age of the study participants was 65 years. Nearly two-thirds of the study participants were male. The study participants’ median plasma selenium concentration was a very low 65.7 mcg/L. Their median SELENOP concentration was also low:  2.7 mg/L. During a median follow-up period of 5,424 days (almost 15 years), there were 210 deaths (40 %) [Brezina 2025]. read more

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Selenium and COVID-19 and Other Viral Infections

Deficient selenium status is associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 as well as with greater risk of chronic inflammatory diseases and viral infections. However, the biological mechanisms by which selenium deficiency might cause weakened immune function and elevated inflammation are not clearly identified as yet [Golin 2023].

Corona virus
Selenium deficiency is linked to increased COVID-19 incidence and mortality. Individuals with low selenium status are more vulnerable to viral infections.

The coronavirus 2, known as SARS-CoV-2, causes COVID-19 illness. COVID-19 is an illness that has infected millions of individuals since late 2019. Acute respiratory syndrome and pro-inflammatory cytokine storms are manifested in the worst of COVID-19 cases. The severity of COVID-19 illness is associated with several factors: age, health status, sex, and selenium deficiency [Golin 2023]. read more

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Selenium and Anti-Aging

Selenium is an essential trace element for anti-aging. We do not need much of it. However, our bodies cannot synthesize it for us. We need to get an adequate intake from our food. If necessary, we need to get a little extra from supplements. Selenium plays a role in promoting longevity and in slowing the aging process [Bjorklund 2022].

Selenium researcher Margaret P Rayman
Prof. Margaret P. Rayman has reported that low selenium status is associated with increased risk of mortality, poor immune function, and cognitive decline.

In many regions of the world, among them much of Europe and the Middle East, the soil and the crops are selenium-poor. For people in these regions, supplementation may be the only way to achieve and maintain a sufficient serum selenium concentration. Current estimates are that the optimal serum selenium status is approximately 125 mcg/L [Rayman 2020].

Selenium and Anti-Aging

Adequate selenium intake is especially important for anti-aging. The selenium element is needed for the synthesis of some 25 known selenoproteins. These selenoproteins have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immune modulating effects. These positive effects link adequate selenium to staying healthier longer in life [Bjorklund 2022]. read more

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Selenium and Selenoprotein P

In humans, Selenoprotein P is the selenium-dependent compound that serves as the primary selenium transport protein in the blood circulation. Selenoprotein P, abbreviated SELENOP, is synthesized in the liver. From the liver, then, it carries selenium out to the peripheral cells and tissues. In this way, it is responsible for ensuring selenium homeostasis throughout the body [Schomburg 2022].

Trace element selenium
Selenoprotein P transports selenium from the liver to the other tissues and organs, with high priority to the brain and the testes. SELENOP helps maintain selenium homeostasis in the body. SELENOP also serves as a useful biomarker of selenium status.

In addition, SELENOP plays a role in the antioxidant defense of the organism. It acts as a scavenger of harmful free radicals. It also supports the activity of the glutathione peroxidases and the thioredoxin reductases. These selenium-dependent enzymes have a major role in the antioxidant protection of the cells. Given its antioxidant effects, SELENOP helps to modulate immune system responses [Schomburg 2022]. read more

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Selenium Health Benefits

Selenium is an essential trace element. For our bodies and our immune systems to function well, we need adequate intakes of selenium. Our bodies cannot produce selenium. We need to get it in our diets [Cleveland Clinic 2023].

Selenium properties
Selenium is a trace element that is essential to human health. It has key physiological roles in antioxidant defense, immune function, protection against heavy metal toxicity, reproductive health, and thyroid hormone metabolism.

Who might need a selenium supplement? The answer depends where one lives. It depends upon how selenium-rich or selenium-poor the soil and the foodstuffs are in the local region. In much of North America, for example, the inhabitants generally do not need a selenium supplement. The reason: the soil and the food grown in the soil in much of North America provide adequate amounts of selenium [Cleveland Clinic 2023].

Conversely, there is a greater likelihood that people living in much of Europe and in some Middle Eastern countries will need a selenium supplement. In a systematic review, Stoffaneller & Morse documented widespread sub-optimal selenium intake and status throughout Europe, the UK, and the Middle East [Stoffaneller & Morse 2015]. read more

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Selenium and Pregnancy

During pregnancy, women need an increased intake of the trace element selenium. Low selenium intake and status in the pregnant mother will be reflected directly in poor selenium status in newborns [Filipowicz 2022].

Newborn children can be low in selenium
There is a strong correlation between the mother’s selenium status during pregnancy and the selenium status of the newborn child.

Women living in regions with low selenium content in the soil and in the food most likely need a selenium supplement. A study conducted in selenium-poor central Poland has revealed that supplemental selenium in a dosage greater than 55 mcg/day can improve pregnant women’s selenium status [Filipowicz 2022].

In the Polish study, one-third of the mothers reported self-initiated additional selenium intake. For the most part, these women took a multi-vitamin and mineral supplement. The tablet added, on average, 42 mcg of selenium to their diets daily. Even so, 79% of these women had serum selenium concentrations below 70 mcg/L (selenium deficiency levels). Moreover, 22% had serum selenium concentrations below 45.9 mcg/L (severe selenium deficiency levels) [Filipowicz 2022]. read more

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Selenium and Immune System Function

Selenium is a micronutrient that we need for optimal immune system function. Selenium is important for the proper functioning of the leukocytes of the immune system. If we have low selenium status, we risk the following immune system dysfunctions [Sadler 2024]:

  • Overproduction of harmful free radicals
  • Unchecked systemic inflammation
  • Sub-optimal cellular signaling
  • Poor clearance of pathogens
Healthy diet includes selenium
A healthy diet includes adequate intakes of selenium. We need at least 100 mcg of selenium daily to achieve a serum selenium in the range 120-130 mcg/L. This serum level is required to optimize the concentration of selenoprotein P. Selenoprotein P is the primary transporter of selenium in the blood.

Adequate intake of selenium is necessary to support an optimal immune system function. We need selenium to increase our resistance to disease. Selenium supplementation in individuals with low dietary selenium intakes can benefit the immune system [Sadler 2024]:

  • enhances antioxidant activity
  • promotes healthy gut microbiota
  • optimizes the innate immune response
  • improves the adaptive immune response

In these ways, selenium supplementation of individuals with low selenium status prevents pathogenic diseases and autoimmune diseases and perhaps some cancers [Sadler 2024].

Immune System Not Highly Prioritized for Selenium Transfer

The distribution of selenium throughout the body reflects a hierarchical order. Even in times of low selenium intake, the body supplies selenium and selenoproteins to organs and tissues that are essential for survival and reproduction. For example, the brain and the endocrine glands are always highly prioritized [Schomburg 2020]. read more

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Selenoprotein P for Better Quality of Life and Longevity

In a KiSel-10 trial sub-study, Prof. Urban Alehagen and a team of researchers have observed a positive association between the levels of serum selenoprotein P (SELENOP) and the serum levels of both total selenium and the seleno-enzyme glutathione peroxidase GPx3. Accordingly, the researchers noted that the serum SELENOP concentration level can serve as a useful biomarker for the selenium status of individual study participants and of individual patients [Alehagen 2024].

Prof Urban Alehagen - selenium researcher
Prof Urban Alehagen is the lead researcher on the KiSel-10 trial of the effect of combined selenium and Coenzyme Q10 supplementation on the quality of life and longevity of elderly Swedish citizens with low dietary selenium intakes.

Important to note here is that daily supplementation with 200 mcg of selenium from a selenium-enriched yeast preparation induced significantly higher serum concentrations of SELENOP in elderly community dwelling Swedish citizens, average age: 77 years. In the active treatment group, the selenium supplementation resulted in the saturation of SELENOP in the blood at a serum selenium level of 146 mcg/L. The selenium supplementation also resulted in a saturation of GPx3 at a serum selenium level of 99 mcg/L. This positive association between the level of SELENOP, on the one hand, and serum selenium and GPx3, on the other hand, is in agreement with the existing research literature [Alehagen 2024]. read more