Platelet Indices of Selenium Status in Healthy and Selenium-Deficient Sheep: a Comparison with Selenium Indices in Plasma, Whole Blood, and Red Blood Cells

Several biomarkers have been used to evaluate selenium (Se) status in livestock. However, there is no report on the potential usefulness of the Se indices of platelets in diagnosis of Se deficiency in large animals. In the current study, Se concentration and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity in platelets of 38 healthy and 142 Se-deficient ewes were assessed, and their correlation with plasma Se concentration, plasma GPx activity, whole blood Se concentration, and erythrocyte GPx activity was determined. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine the optimal cutoff values of Se concentration and GPx activity of the platelets and to summarize the diagnostic performance of these biomarkers. In Se-deficient ewes, consistent with other indices, Se concentration and GPx activity in platelets were significantly lower than those of the healthy ewes. There was a positive significant correlation between Se concentration and GPx activity in platelets with plasma Se concentration, whole blood Se concentration, and erythrocyte GPx activity. Based on the ROC curve analysis, the best cutoff value to predict inadequate plasma selenium concentration was ≤0.0055 attogram/platelet for the platelet Se concentration, with a sensitivity of 100.0 %, specificity of 92.4 %, and AUC of 0.94. For platelet GPx activity, the cutoff value was ≤203.6 U/g protein with a sensitivity of 97.4 %, specificity of 77.7 %, and AUC of 0.90. The results of this study suggested that the platelet Se concentration and GPx activity can be considered a reliable and valid intermediate-term surrogate parameter in assessment of dietary Se intake in sheep.