Selenocompounds and Sepsis: Redox Bypass Hypothesis: Part B- Selenocompounds in the Management of Early Sepsis

International audience; SIGNIFICANCE: Endothelial barrier damage, in part caused by excess production of reactive oxygen, halogen and nitrogen species (ROHNS), especially peroxynitrite ONOO-, is a major event in early sepsis and, with leukocyte hyperactivation, part of the generalized dysregulated immune response to infection, which may even become a complex maladaptive state. Selenoenzymes have major antioxidant functions. Their synthesis is related to the need to limit deleterious oxidant redox cycling by small selenocompounds, which may be of therapeutic cytotoxic interest. Plasma selenoprotein-P is crucial for selenium transport from the liver to the tissues and for antioxidant endothelial protection, especially against ONOO-. Above micromolar concentrations, sodium selenite (Na2SeO3) becomes cytotoxic, with a lower cytotoxicity threshold in activated cells, which has led to cancer research. RECENT ADVANCES: Plasma selenium (