Protective effect of sodium selenite on human keratinocytes from ultraviolet-B irradiation

AIM: To investigate the protective effect of sodium selenite (Na₂SeO₃) on human keratinocytes under ultraviolet-B (UVB) irradiation. METHODS: The cultured HaCaT cells were divided into 4 groups: (1) normal control group; (2) Na₂SeO₃ group: pretreated with Na₂SeO₃ at doses of 10 nmol/L, 50 nmol/L, 100 nmol/L, 200 nmol/L and 1 μmol/L for 24 h; (3) UVB group: irradiated with UVB at doses of 300, 600 and 900 J/m² ; (4) Na₂SeO₃+UVB group: after pretreated with Na₂SeO₃ for 24 h, irradiated with UVB at doses of 300, 600 and 900 J/m² . The cell proliferation was detected by MTT assay. The apoptotic rates of HaCaT cells treated with UVB at dose of 300 J/m² were assessed by flow cytometry. RESULTS: Compared with normal control group, the cell proliferation activity in UVB group decreased significantly (P<0.05). The cell activity was inversely correlated with the irradiation intensity. No significant difference of the cell activity between Na₂SeO₃ group and normal control group was observed. The cell proliferation in Na₂SeO₃+UVB group was higher than that in UVB group significantly (P<0.05). Na₂SeO₃ at concentration of 100 nmol/L showed the strongest activity to promote cell proliferation. After 300 J/m² UVB irradiation, the apoptotic rate in Na₂SeO₃+UVB group decreased significantly (P<0.05) compared with UVB group. The inhibitory effect of Na₂SeO₃ at concentration of 100 nmol/L on apoptosis was the strongest.CONCLUSION: The damage of human keratinocytes by UVB irradiation is in a dose-dependent manner. The photoprotection performance of Na₂SeO₃ reduces the damage of human keratinocytes induced by UVB irradiation.