Theoretical Evidence that the Ebola Virus Zaire Strain May Be Selenium-Dependent: A Factor in Pathogenesis and Viral Outbreaks?
"The possibility that this gene might contribute to the extreme pathogenicity of the Zaire strain of Ebola virus by this mechanism is also consistent with the observation that this potential selenoprotein gene is not present in the Ebola Reston strain, which was not pathogenic in humans."
"If viruses like HIV-1, coxsackievirus B3 and Ebola do encode selenoproteins, why does all the evidence suggest that dietary Se inhibits viral replication, whereas Se deficiency triggers replication? Why would Se not “feed” the virus? The answer must lie in how viruses use Se."
"As discussed previously, due to the inefficiency of frameshifting and SeC insertion mechanisms, these hypothetical viral selenoproteins could only be formed in very small amounts. Thus, in most cases they are not likely to be major structural proteins; some might have regulatory roles, acting in the midphase of the life cycle, and might not even be packaged in virions. If even one such selenoprotein were involved in negative feedback on replication (a repressor type function), decreased levels of that protein would provide the virus a way to respond to low Se levels by leaving the cell in search of a new host. By such a mechanism, the virus could satisfy a basal dependence on Se by escaping from a cell where Se levels had become dangerously low."
The Sybergistic Approach
"Iodine and Selenium are two nutreints which are essential for thyroid function, Yet supplementing Iodine in the absence of Selenium can do more harm than good. High iodine intake during selenium deficiency can permt thyroid tissue dammage as a result of low thyroid GSH-Px acticity during thyroid stimulation."
“combating poison with poison”
The bird flu, or avian influenza, is spreading in Europe. The hype and hysteria in the media are quite unprecedented. We are treated to images of dead Swans being stuffed into plastic bags by Vets in protective clothing. The stage seems set for the inevitable disaster. But is the situation really that grave? Hassleberger reviews (and edits for redability) a report by Qu Shaozhong. "The delicate relation between selenium and virus is determined by the characteristics of selenium. Selenium is either a beneficial element essential to the reproduction of living beings or a harmful element with toxicity, and the threshold between the two is very narrow. The highest concentration of selenium is found in the semen and ovum of animals. Each sperm contains selenium and each time hundreds of millions of sperms are discharged. In the period of peak sexual activity, in the age between 20 to 40 for humans, and in the peak egg production period for birds, the need for selenium is the highest, leading to serious shortage of selenium in the body. This is determined in genetic breeding instructions. As the main task of genes is to reproduce, the genes keep most selenium in the spermaduct or Fallopian tube to be used for reproduction. Likewise, birds also store selenium in their eggs according to genetic instruction to meet the requirements of reproduction. This is why the concentration of selenium is highest in eggs. The reproduction of viruses also needs selenium (and much more is needed because of the large number of viruses). The selenium needed by a single virus is very little, and if enough selenium is available in the organism of animals, the virus that enters the body will die because of overdose (toxicosis) of nutrition (selenium), in other words, it will poison itself. This is a typical instance of “combating poison with poison”, and also a modus of defense typefied by the phrase “with true Qi preserved, no disease will happen”. On the contrary, when selenium is lacking in the body, it is easiest for viruses to invade, because they can get adequate dosage of selenium. In addition, mutation of viruses always happens in a selenium deficient environment, one that is most suitable to the reproduction of viruses. Experiment shows that a sufficient supply of micromolecule selenium compounds can restrain HIV outside of the organism and inorganic selenium compounds can restrain cow leucovirus outside of the organism. Therefore, Chen Junshi, a nutritionist in our country has pointed out that “Selenium is the only nutritional element that has direct relation with viral infection”."
Brazil nuts: an effective way to improve selenium status
"Conclusion: Consumption of 2 Brazil nuts daily is as effective for increasing selenium status and enhancing GPx activity as 100 μg Se as selenomethionine. Inclusion of this high-selenium food in the diet could avoid the need for fortification or supplements to improve the selenium status of New Zealanders." Christine D Thomson Alexandra Chisholm Sarah K McLachlan Jennifer M Campbell The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 87, Issue 2, 1 February 2008, Pages 379–384, doi:10.1093/ajcn/87.2.379(link) Published: 01 February 2008
Ebola Outbreak in West Africa; Is Selenium Involved?
(1) Selenium blood level seems to have a serious effect on the clinical picture of patients with Ebola virus disease. (2) There aren’t enough information on the Selenium intake in Africa, which is strongly affected by the Selenium levels in the soil, and that latter information is not routinely measured when assessing the micronutrient content of soil. (3) The authors of this paper find it extremely important to test the blood samples from Ebola patients for their Selenium levels and their relation with the disease outcome should be carefully studied. (4) If Selenium supplements are decided to be given by the physician, symptoms of toxicity should be carefully anticipated as Selenium has a narrow therapeutic index. (Note: the amount required was shown to be two Brazil nuts a day by Foster 2007 - RJS) Abstract One of the current international public health emergencies is the outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD), requiring extraordinary response. The current outbreak in West Africa is the most dangerous since Ebola was first discovered on 26 August 1976. Till January 6th 2015, It resulted in 13,387 laboratory confirmed human cases and 8274 deaths. Ebola virus has 5 strains, 4 are pathogenic in humans while the 5th strain Ebola reston strain is not. The current outbreak is caused by Ebola most pathogenic strain, Ebola Zaire strain whose genome differs from that of Reston Ebola virus strain, by the existence of several open reading frames containing large numbers of UGA codons. These codons act as stop codons and in addition they may encode for Selenocysteine, the 21st aminoacid, which is essential for the formation of Selenoproteins. Selenoproteins are integral to the metabolism and have been linked to the progression of certain viral diseases. In this review, we discuss the relation between Selenium and the progression of the current EVD in Africa supported by geographical distribution of Se and genetic evidence.
Can Selenite be an Ultimate Inhibitor of Ebola and Other Viral Infections?
It is known that the virulence of Ebola and other RNA enveloped viruses involves in the first step their attachment to host cell membranes. Following this initial step the virus enters the target cell cytoplasm by forming hydrophobic spikes that make holes in the membrane lipid bilayer. Formation of such spikes is catalyzed by the reduced form of viral protein disulfide isomerase (PDIred) thus initiating chain of disulfide exchange reactions. Consequently, hydrophobic protein epitopes become exposed, which in the absence of proper chaperones form hydrophobic ‘spikes’ capable of penetrating the host cell membranes. In this communication evidence is discussed showing that the chain of disulfide exchange events can be inhibited by a small redox molecule – sodium selenite. It is suggested that this inexpensive and readily available food supplement can be an ultimate inhibitor of Ebola and other enveloped viral infections. http://www.journalrepository.org/media/journals/BJMMR_12/2014/Dec/Lipinski632014BJMMR14858.pdf
"98.7 mcg/L of Se in plasma or serum are required to optimize GPx activity"
A Review of Dietary Selenium Intake and Selenium Status in Europe and the Middle East, 2015 link
Selenate ions are rapidly absorbed and transported into the plant. Selenite absorption on the other hand is slower but is more rapidly metabolized to organoselenium. Plants will tolerate more selenium on high-sulfate soils. Some plants such as alfalfa and white clover are very sensitive and will show signs of damage at low soil selenium concentrations. Others can accumulate >100 microg Se/kg without damage. Selenium uptake will generally be in the order : Cruciferae > grass> legumes >cereal grains. This if of importance for regions where the soil is poor in selenium and nutrition could be selenium deficient. The easiest way for people living in countries with low selenium in soils to raise their plasma selenium level is regular consumption of staple foods rich in selenium like peanuts, chickpeas, lentils, white beans. A large study in Romania showed that selenium content is higher in stems and leaves than in flowers: 60 versus 35 microg/kg (D Antal et al., Analele Universitatii din Oradea, 2010, XVII, 23-28). Plants from the Artemisia family also accumulate many minerals, including selenium, 10 times more than fruits and vegetables (U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2117). The same accumulator effect has been shown in China for Artemisia argyi (Ping Liu Xin et al., Adv Mat Res 2013, 1, 634-638) and the US for Artemisia ludoviciana (A Mehdawi et al., Current Biology, 2011, 21, 1440-48). The metal is present in the form of selenium polysaccharide. A study from Iran comparing the selenium uptake by garden herbs and vegetables: garden cress, leek, basil mint, onion, radish and tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus). Tarragon had the highest uptake (M Shariatpanahi et al, Biol Trace Elem Res, 1986, 11, 177-83). This may explain why several of our partners in Congo, Uganda, Tanzania and India have found that the regular consumption of Artemisia annua or Artemisia afra infusion increases the CD4+ count.
The immune villages in Gabon
People get Ebola here but never get sick. The implications are staggering and the only thing less explained is why there is zero medical interest in a cluster of people that do not get sick from the worlds worst viral disease. What other viral diseases do they not get? HIV? Flu? In the years we've known of this (1976 to now) did we ever out of curiosity see what other diseases they have had but did not experience any illness?
By Richard Morrill The vital nutrient that most of us are lacking Many people have never heard of selenium, yet this microscopic mineral could be more vital to our health than any other nutrient. Studies link low selenium intake with an increased risk of cancer and other problems. Unfortunately, people in many countries fail to get enough selenium to optimize their health. This is partly due to the fact that the agricultural soil in many parts of the world is low in selenium, and the problem is only made worse by unbalanced diets, veganism, and gluten intolerance (wheat is a selenium source). Somewhat surprisingly, the selenium content in organically farmed produce is often lower than crops, meat, and dairy from conventional farms, which is because organic farming prohibits selenium-enrichment of agricultural fertilizers. This was otherwise what the Finnish government decided to introduce back in 1985 to improve the critically low selenium status of the Finns –and it worked. Today, more and more experts call for selenium supplementation as a useful measure for improving global health. In fact, farmers have fed supplementary selenium to livestock for decades as a natural way of preventing muscle and joint problems, heart disease, and low fertility in the animals In his book “History of Selenium”, Richard Morrill takes a closer look at some of the studies that link improved selenium status to lower cancer rates and fewer cardiovascular diseases. Science is finding out more and more about the health benefits of this fascinating nutrient. The big challenge is getting enough to stay healthy.
"Dietary deficiency of selenium and the presence of a mutated strain of Coxsackievirus"
Keshan disease is a congestive cardiomyopathy caused by a combination of dietary deficiency of selenium and the presence of a mutated strain of Coxsackievirus, named after Keshan County of Heilongjiang province, Northeast China, where symptoms were first noted. These symptoms were later found prevalent in a wide belt extending from northeast to southwest China, all due to selenium-deficient soil. The disease peaked in 1960–1970, claiming thousands of lives.[1][2] Often fatal, the disease afflicts children and women of child bearing age, characterized by heart failure and pulmonary edema. Over decades, supplementation with selenium reduced this affliction.[3] It had been linked to the coxsackie B virus. Current research suggests that the lack of selenium results in a more virulent strain of the coxsackievirus becoming the dominant viral species present in the population of virus, but the mechanism of this selection event is unclear.[4][5] Keshan disease can also lead to higher rates of cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and strokes. In addition, an individual can experience eczema, psoriasis, arthritis, cataracts, alcoholism, and infections.
Low Selenium causes viruses to mutate into more deadly forms.
