Effect of selenium on thyroid autoimmunity and regulatory T cells in patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis: A prospective randomized‐controlled trial
What this study found
Selenium supplementation improved thyroid autoimmunity and selenium status, with the clearest benefit in antibody reduction and lower TSH. In the selenium group, TPOAb fell from 237.3 to 178.3 IU/ml and TGAb from 435.0 to 388.0 IU/ml over 6 months, with greater 6-month reductions than control for the change from baseline in TPOAb (p = 0.001), TGAb (p = 0.001), and TSH (p = 0.001). Serum selenium rose from 73.6 to 187.2 ug/L, and markers of antioxidant selenoproteins increased, including GPx3 and SePP1. Selenium also increased activated regulatory T cells and Helios expression, supporting a…
- Study & population
- Prospective randomized controlled trial in patients with Hashimoto's thyroiditis who were not treated with levothyroxine.
- Intervention
- Participants in the active arm received selenious yeast tablet, 200 ug/day by tablet, once daily for at least 6 months.
- Key limitation
- Open-label, single-center design with a small sample size limits certainty and generalizability.
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Open PDFOriginal abstract
Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element in human. Recent studies of Se supplementation on the effect of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) have been reported, but the exact benefit is unclear as well as the underlying immunologic mechanism. We aimed to evaluate the clinical effect of Se supplement in patients with HT, and explore the potential mechanism against thyroid autoimmunity. A prospective, randomized‑controlled study was performed in patients with HT assigned to two groups. Se‐treated group (n = 43) received selenious yeast tablet (SYT) for 6 months, whereas no treatment in control group (n = 47). The primary outcome is the change of thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) or thyroglobulin antibody (TGAb). Second, thyroid function, urinary iodine, Se, Glutathione peroxidase3 (GPx3), and Selenoprotein P1 (SePP1) levels were measured during the SYT treatment. Meanwhile, regulatory T cells (Tregs) and their subsets activated Tregs (aTregs), resting Tregs, and secreting Tregs, as well as Helios and PD‐1 expression on these cells were also detected. The results showed that SYT treatment significantly decreased TPOAb, TGAb, and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels, accompanied with the increased Se, GPx3, and SePP1, compared with the control group. Subgroup analysis revealed that subclinical HT may benefit more from this treatment in the decrease of TSH levels by interaction test. Moreover, the percentage of aTregs, Helios/Tregs, and Helios/aTregs were significantly higher in the Se‐treated group than control. In conclusion, Se supplementation may have a beneficial effect on thyroid autoantibodies and thyroid function by increasing the antioxidant activity and upregulating the activated Treg cells.