Acute phase response of selenium status and glutathione peroxidase activity in blood plasma before and after total knee arthroplasty surgery.

Several studies show the consistent results of the decrease in plasma or serum selenium (Se) after surgery, and the change is suggested to be a negative acute phase response of Se to the surgical inflammation. Plasma glutathione peroxidase (GPx), which is included in the acute phase response proteins, is a selenoenzyme. However, previous studies failed to show any changes in GPx activity before and after surgery. In the present study, we investigated the Se- and selenoenzyme responses that accompany the acute inflammatory reactions during and following major surgery. Patients who underwent elective total knee arthroplasty surgery due to knee osteoarthritis at the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Gunma University Hospital in Japan were studied. The plasma Se concentration was determined, and the activity of plasma GPx was measured. C-reactive protein (CRP), albumin, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and white blood cell (WBC) count were also analysed. Increases in the inflammatory biomarkers of CRP and WBC showed inflammatory reactions with the surgery. A significant increase in plasma GPx activity (p < 0.05) and decreases in the plasma Se concentration (p < 0.05) and in serum albumin (p < 0.05) after surgery were observed. Since albumin is a Se-containing protein and represents a negative acute phase protein that provides amino acids for the production of other series of acute phase proteins, the present results suggest that there is a redistribution of plasma Se to GPx that occurs as an acute phase response, and the source of Se for GPx could be, at least partly, from albumin.