AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 257, Issue 3 556-R567, Copyright © 1989 by American Physiological Society

ARTICLES

Human selenite metabolism: a kinetic model

B. H. Patterson, O. A. Levander, K. Helzlsouer, P. A. McAdam, S. A. Lewis, P. R. Taylor, C. Veillon and L. A. Zech
Biometry Branch, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda 20892.

A model is developed to describe the kinetics of sodium selenite metabolism in humans, based on plasma, urine, and fecal samples obtained from six subjects over a 4-wk period after a single oral 200-micrograms dose of the enriched stable isotope tracer 74Se. The model describes absorption, distributed along the gastrointestinal tract, and enterohepatic recirculation. The model includes four kinetically distinct plasma components, a subsystem consisting of the liver and pancreas, and a slowly turning-over tissue pool. For the six subjects, the ranges of mean residence times for the four plasma components are, respectively, 0.2-1.1 h, 3-8 h, 9-42 h, and 200-285 h; for the hepatopancreatic subsystem 4-41 days; and for the tissue pool 115-285 days. Approximately 84% of the administered dose was absorbed, and after 12 days approximately 65% remained in the body. The model predicts that after 90 days approximately 35% of this Se would be retained, primarily in the tissues. Separating Se metabolism into several distinct kinetic components is a first step in identifying the efficacious, nutritious, and toxic forms of the element.

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