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World J Diabetes. Mar 15, 2023; 14(3): 147-158
Published online Mar 15, 2023. doi: 10.4239/wjd.v14.i3.147
Role of selenium in type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance and insulin secretion
Pilar Casanova, Daniel Monleon
Pilar Casanova, Daniel Monleon, Department of Pathology, University of Valencia, Valencia 46010, Spain
Author contributions: Monleon D and Casanova P wrote and reviewed the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: There are no conflicts of interest to report.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Daniel Monleon, PhD, Professor, Department of Pathology, University of Valencia, 15 Avda Blasco Ibañez, Valencia 46010, Spain. daniel.monleon@uv.es
Received: September 20, 2022
Peer-review started: September 20, 2022
First decision: October 21, 2022
Revised: November 30, 2022
Accepted: February 9, 2023
Article in press: February 9, 2023
Published online: March 15, 2023
Processing time: 176 Days and 0.3 Hours
Abstract

Selenium is a trace mineral essential for life that acts physiologically through selenoproteins. Among other actions, the endogenous antioxidant selenoprotein glutathione peroxidase and the selenium transporter in blood, selenoprotein P, seem to play an important role in type 2 diabetes mellitus and insulin resistance by weakening the insulin signaling cascade through different mechanisms. Recent findings also suggest that selenoproteins also affect insulin biosynthesis and insulin secretion. This review discussed the role of selenium in type 2 diabetes and the complex interplay between selenoproteins and insulin pathways.

Keywords: Selenium; Diabetes; Insulin resistance; Metabolism; Antioxidants

Core Tip: In this review we explored the role of selenium in insulin resistance and β-cell secretory function. The response to selenium intake has a U-shaped dose-dependent effect so that when it is above the recommended dose, it causes hyperglycemia and hyperinsulinemia, which alters oxidative stress and the insulin signaling cascade and lipid and glucose metabolism. Recent findings also suggested that selenoproteins affect insulin biosynthesis and insulin secretion. Current evidence suggests that the ingestion of selenium supplements should be taken with caution considering the basal levels of selenium in daily food intake to avoid the development of type 2 diabetes mellitus.