Uptake and localization of selenium-75 in mammary epithelial cell lines in vitro

The uptake and subcellular localization of selenium-75 was examined in 3 established mammary cell lines in vitro. Previous studies had demonstrated that cell line YN-4 exhibited a biphasic growth response to selenium, whereas cell lines CL-S1 and WAZ-2t exhibited only an inhibition of growth. All 3 cell lines incorporated selenium-75 readily over a 48-h incubation period and the concentration of selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase was correlated with the level of selenium-75 uptake. However, neither of these 2 parameters could be related to the unique biphasic growth response exhibited by cell line YN-4. The intracellular localization of selenium-75 was similar in lines CL-S1 and YN-4 with the label incorporated primarily in the cytosol and secondarily in the mitochondria. Although the unique growth response of line YN-4 could not be attributed to the incorporation parameters examined herein, the stable incorporation of selenium-75 at high levels should make these lines useful for further studies on the subcellular localization of selenium into organelles and macromolecules.