Selenium, a dietary-antioxidant with cardioprotective effects, prevents the impairments in heart rate and systolic blood pressure in adolescent rats exposed to binge drinking treatment.

BACKGROUND

Binge drinking (BD) during adolescence is related to cardiovascular alterations. Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antiapoptotic properties, essential for correct heart function.

OBJECTIVES

To study the protective cardiovascular effects of selenium in adolescent rats exposed to a BD-like procedure.

METHODS

32 adolescent male rats exposed to an intraperitoneally BD-like model or not, and supplemented with 0.4ppm of selenite or not, were divided into 4 groups: control, alcohol, control-selenium and alcohol-selenium. Blood pressure and heart rate (HR) were determined after experimentation. Se deposits, oxidative balance and the expression of glutathione peroxidases (GPxs), NF-kB and caspase-3 were measured in the heart. Also, DNA instability in rat lymphocytes and serum vascular markers were determined. Statistical analysis was performed with the ANOVA model.

RESULTS

The BD-like model depleted Se heart deposits (p < .01), decreased GPx activity (p < .01) and GPx1 (p < .001) and GPx4 (p < .05) expression, increased NF-kB (p < .01), caspase-3 (p < .001) expression, and generated oxidation in myocytes. Outside the heart, the BD-like model caused double-strand breaks in lymphocyte DNA and increased all the vascular markers measured. These cardiovascular alterations were related to higher systolic (p < .001) and diastolic (p < .05) blood pressure and HR (p < .05). In the heart, Se supplementation in BD-exposed rats significantly increased Se deposits (p < .001) and improved oxidative balance and vascular damage, including increased GPxs and decreased NF-kB and caspase-3 activation, consequently decreasing systolic (p < .05) blood pressure and HR (p < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

Se supplementation presents cardioprotective effects since it reversed HR and systolic blood pressure observed in BD-exposed adolescent rats.