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Previous studies demonstrated that selenium in the form of sodium selenate reduces neurofibrillary tangle formation in Alzheimer's disease models. Hyperphosphorylation of tau, which leads to formation of neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease, is increased by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. Selenoprotein S (SelS) is part of an ER membrane complex that removes misfolded proteins from the ER as a means to reduce ER stress. Selenate, as with other forms of selenium, will increase selenoprotein expression. We therefore proposed that increased SelS expression by selenate would contribute to the beneficial actions of selenate in Alzheimer's disease. SelS expression increased with ER stress and decreased under conditions of elevated glucose concentrations in the SH-SY5Y neuronal cell line. Reducing expression of SelS with siRNA promoted cell death in response to ER stress. Selenate increased SelS expression, which significantly correlated with decreased tau phosphorylation. Restricting SelS expression during ER stress conditions increased tau phosphorylation, and also promoted aggregation of phosphorylated tau in neurites and soma. In human postmortem brain, SelS expression coincided with neurofibrillary tangles, but not with amyloid-β plaques. These results indicate that selenate can alter phosphorylation of tau by increasing expression of SelS in Alzheimer's disease and potentially other neurodegenerative disorders.

In neurons, calcium (Ca(2+) ) channels regulate a wide variety of functions ranging from synaptic transmission to gene expression. They also induce neuroplastic changes that alter gene expression following psychostimulant administration. Ca(2+) channel blockers have been considered as potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of methamphetamine (METH) dependence because of their ability to reduce drug craving among METH users. Here, we studied the effects of METH exposure on voltage-gated Ca(2+) channels using SH-SY5Y cells as a model of dopaminergic neurons. We found that METH has different short- and long-term effects. A short-term effect involves immediate ( 5 min) direct inhibition of Ca(2+) ion movements through Ca(2+) channels. Longer exposure to METH (20 min or 48 h) selectively up-regulates the expression of only the CACNA1C gene, thus increasing the number of L-type Ca(2+) channels. This up-regulation of CACNA1C is associated with the expression of the cAMP-responsive element-binding protein (CREB), a known regulator of CACNA1C gene expression, and the MYC gene, which encodes a transcription factor that putatively binds to a site proximal to the CACNA1C gene transcription initiation site. The short-term inhibition of Ca(2+) ion movement and later, the up-regulation of Ca(2+) channel gene expression together suggest the operation of cAMP-responsive element-binding protein- and C-MYC-mediated mechanisms to compensate for Ca(2+) channel inhibition by METH. Increased Ca(2+) current density and subsequent increased intracellular Ca(2+) may contribute to the neurodegeneration accompanying chronic METH abuse. Methamphetamine (METH) exposure has both short- and long-term effects. Acutely, methamphetamine directly inhibits voltage-gated calcium channels. Chronically, neurons compensate by up-regulating the L-type Ca(2+) channel gene, CACNA1C. This compensatory mechanism is mediated by transcription factors C-MYC and CREB, in which CREB is linked to the dopamine D1 receptor signaling pathway. These findings suggest Ca(2+) -mediated neurotoxicity owing to over-expression of calcium channels.

Methamphetamine interferes with dopamine reuptake, and the resulting increased dopamine oxidation that creates oxidative stress can lead to degeneration of dopaminergic terminals. Previous studies have shown that the trace element selenium protects against methamphetamine toxicity. However, the specific selenoproteins responsible for protection have not been elucidated. Glutathione peroxidases 1 and 4 (GPx1 and GPx4) incorporate selenium into the amino acid selenocysteine, and their known antioxidant functions make them good candidates for protection from methamphetamine-induced oxidative damage. We differentiated SH-SY5Y neuronal cells in serum-free media with defined supplement containing 0, 10 and 100 nM selenium, and then challenged the cells with a 24-hour exposure to methamphetamine. We found that 100 μM methamphetamine decreased GPx1 and GPx4 protein levels. However, both proteins were upregulated with increasing media selenium concentration. GPx enzymatic activity was also increased by selenium and decreased by methamphetamine and correlated with GPx protein levels. Total glutathione levels were reduced by methamphetamine at lower selenium conditions, while the oxidized fraction of GSH was increased at higher selenium levels. Additionally, we observed an increased generation of reactive oxygen species with methamphetamine exposure in media with 0 nM selenium, which was ameliorated by selenium supplementation. These results show that methamphetamine increases oxidative stress by reducing GPx levels, and this can be reversed with addition of selenium. These findings have important implications for treating patients with acute methamphetamine toxicity.