Abstract
Corporeal distribution and placental transfer of selenium after a single injection of sodium selenite (SS) were investigated over a period of 24 h with regard to the gestational stages of mice and the injection routes of SS. On day 16 of gestation, feto-placental accumulation of selenium was remarkably increased compared with that on day 12 following subcutaneous (sc) injection of SS.
Selenium concentrations in the maternal liver, kidneys and lungs were higher on day 16 than on day 12. These results explain the occurrence of the enhanced abortion or maternal death due to SS injection (sc) on day 16 compared with that on day 12, in the previous study. Intravenous (iv) injection of SS caused increased selenium concentrations in most of the maternal organs and tissues but not in the placenta or the fetus compared with sc injection. This may explain the disap-pearance of the abortion-inducing effect of SS when iv injection is used.
