ORGANOSELENIUM COMPOUNDS ACT ON THE GLUCOSE AND LIPID METABOLISM THROUGH DAF-16/FOXO ACTIVATION IN C. elegans

The dysregulation in the insulin pathway can promote disturbance in the glucose and lipids metabolism. Organic selenium compounds can appear as an alternative for the treatment of these disorders due to their reported pharmacological effects, including modulation of glucose metabolism. Based on that, the objective of this work was to evaluate the safety of (PhSe)2, (OMePhSe)2 and (m-CF3-PhSe)2 and their effects on the glucose and lipids metabolism after induction with high glucose or fructose concentrations in C.elegans. In addition, we determined the mechanism of action of these compounds through the DAF-16/FOXO. Our results demonstrated that exposure to (PhSe)2 shows lower toxicity (100 µM) when compared to (OMePhSe)2 (10 µM). In contrast, (m-CF3-PhSe)2 exhibits toxicity only at higher concentrations. These compounds did not reduce the glucose and triglycerides in basal levels (per se). Notably, compounds were able to prevent high glucose levels induced by high glucose or fructose feeding. However, only (PhSe)2 and (OMePhSe)2, reduced the triglycerides levels caused by fructose or glucose overload. These results suggest that the tested compounds modulate glucose and lipid metabolism only when these carbohydrates are at high levels, likely via activation of the DAF-16/FOXO pathway.