STUDY ON THE INTERACTION OF Se AND ERYTHROCYTE MEMBRANE——PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF Se ON THE ERYTHROCYTE MEMBRANES

During the ageing of erythrocyte membrane, the spectrin content, Na, K-ATPase activity as well as the lipid fluidity are obviously decreased. However, supplementation of a trace amount of Na_2SeO_3 in the medium could prevent the dissociation of spectrin from membrane and delay the changes of Na, K-ATPase activity and lipid fluidity. The effectiveness is proportional to Se concentration within the range of 0.1—1.0 ppm.Similar effect of supplementation of Se on the intact erythrocytes during ageing has been also observed.The protective action of Se on biomembranes is generally interpreted in terms of the activity of Se-containing glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx). However, GSHPx mainly distributes in the cytoplasma of erythrocytes, therefore it seems that the protective action of supplemented Se on the isolated erythrocyte membrane might not be related to the activity of GSHPx.