Selenium (Se), an essential mineral, plays a major role in cellular redox status and may have beneficial effects on bone health. The objective of this study was to determine whether Se deficiency affects redox status and bone microarchitecture in a mouse model. Thirty-three male C57BL/6J mice, 18 wk old, were randomly assigned to 3 groups. Mice were fed either a purified, Se-deficient diet (SeDef) containing ∼0.9 μg Se/kg diet, or Se-adequate diets containing ∼100 μg Se/kg diet from either selenomethionine (SeMet) or pinto beans (SeBean) for 4 mo. The Se concentration, glutathione peroxidase (GPx1) activity, and GPx1 mRNA in liver were lower in the SeDef group than in the SeMet or SeBean group. The femoral trabecular bone volume/total volume and trabecular number were less, whereas trabecular separation was greater, in the SeDef group than in either the SeMet or SeBean group (P < 0.05). Bone structural parameters between the SeMet and SeBean groups did not differ. Furthermore, Serum concentrations of C-reactive protein, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase, and intact parathyroid hormone were higher in the SeDef group than in the other 2 groups. These findings demonstrate that Se deficiency is detrimental to bone microarchitecture by increasing bone resorption, possibly through decreasing antioxidative potential.
Green rusts (GRs) are mixed Fe(II)-Fe(III) hydroxides with a high reactivity toward organic and inorganic pollutants. GRs can be produced from ferric reducing or ferrous oxidizing bacterial activities. In this study, we investigated the capability of Klebsiella mobilis to produce iron minerals in the presence of nitrate and ferrous iron. This bacterium is well-known to reduce nitrate using an organic carbon source as electron donor but is unable to enzymatically oxidize Fe(II) species. During incubation, GR formation occurred as a secondary iron mineral precipitating on cell surfaces, resulting from Fe(II) oxidation by nitrite produced via bacterial respiration of nitrate. For the first time, we demonstrate GR formation by indirect microbial oxidation of Fe(II) (i.e., a combination of biotic/abiotic processes). These results therefore suggest that nitrate-reducing bacteria can potentially contribute to the formation of GR in natural environments. In addition, the chemical reduction of nitrite to ammonium by GR is observed, which gradually turns the GR into the end-product goethite. The nitrogen mass-balance clearly demonstrates that the total amount of ammonium produced corresponds to the quantity of bioreduced nitrate. These findings demonstrate how the activity of nitrate-reducing bacteria in ferrous environments may provide a direct link between the biogeochemical cycles of nitrogen and iron.
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