Trial reportClinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland)2017
Selenium supplementation has beneficial and detrimental effects on immunity to influenza vaccine in older adults.
Trial report in Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland), 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 66 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
66 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 136 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Role of Nutrition in COVID-19 Susceptibility and Severity of Disease: A Systematic Review.The Journal of nutrition · 2021Pooled it
- Nutritional perspectives for the prevention and mitigation of COVID-19.Nutrition reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Enhancing immunity in viral infections, with special emphasis on COVID-19: A review.Diabetes & metabolic syndromePooled it
- Trial
- Micronutrients and omega-3 PUFAs to promote healthy ageing: informing a physiology-based complementation strategy.GeroScience · 2026Review
- Trace Elements and Viral Infectious Diseases: Dual Roles in Pathogenesis and Immunity.Infectious disease reports · 2026Review
- Selenium-derived bioactive enablers for advanced therapies: From molecular redox modulation to broad-spectrum disease applications.Bioactive materials · 2026Review
- Organic di-selenide hydrogel microspheres for multimodal treatment of osteoarthritis.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Selenitetriglyceride-Induced Modulation of Selected Cellular and Humoral Immune Parameters in Kamieniecka Sheep.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Micronutrient status and fatty acid profile of adults with SARS-CoV-2 infection-an observational study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Influence of blood trace elements on immune responses and adverse symptoms subsequent to Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccination.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- How does geographical diversity shape vaccine efficacy?Clinical and experimental vaccine research · 2024Review
- The Potential of Integrative Cancer Treatment Using Melatonin and the Challenge of Heterogeneity in Population-Based Studies: A Case Report of Colon Cancer and a Literature Review.Current oncology (Toronto, Ont.) · 2024Review
- Systemic immunometabolism and responses to vaccines: insights from T and B cell perspectives.International immunology · 2023Review
- Selenoprotein P, Peroxiredoxin-5, Renalase and Selected Cardiovascular Consequences Tested in Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring and Echocardiography.Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- The Role of Diet and Specific Nutrients during the COVID-19 Pandemic: What Have We Learned over the Last Three Years?International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Review
- Selenium intake and multiple health-related outcomes: an umbrella review of meta-analyses.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Review
- Dietary supplementation with spray-dried animal plasma improves vaccine protection in aged mice.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Article
- Review on the health-promoting effect of adequate selenium status.Frontiers in nutrition · 2023Review
- Nano selenium-enriched probioticFrontiers in immunology · 2023Article
6 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND &
aimsMortality resulting from influenza (flu) virus infections occurs primarily in the elderly through declining immunity. Studies in mice have suggested beneficial effects of selenium (Se) supplementation on immunity to flu but similar evidence is lacking in humans. A dietary intervention study was therefore designed to test the effects of Se-supplementation on a variety of parameters of anti-flu immunity in healthy subjects aged 50-64 years.
methodsA 12-week randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.govNCT00279812) was undertaken in six groups of individuals with plasma Se levels <110 ng/mL. Four groups were given daily capsules of yeast enriched with 0 μg Se/day (SeY-0/d; n = 20), 50 μg Se/d (SeY-50/d; n = 18), 100 μg Se/d (SeY-100/d; n = 21) or 200 μg Se/d (SeY-200/d; n = 23). Two groups were given onion-containing meals with either <1 μg Se/d (SeO-0/d; n = 17) or 50 μg Se/d (SeO-50/d; n = 18). Flu vaccine was administrated at week 10 and immune parameters were assessed until week 12.
resultsPrimary study endpoints were changes in cellular and humoral immune responses. Supplementation with SeY and SeO affected different aspects of cellular immunity. SeY increased Tctx-ADCC cell counts in blood (214%, SeY-100/d) before flu vaccination and a dose-dependent increase in T cell proliferation (500%, SeY-50/100/200/d), IL-8 (169%, SeY-100/d) and IL-10 (317%, SeY-200/d) secretion after in vivo flu challenge. Positive effects were contrasted by lower granzyme B content of CD8 cells (55%, SeY-200/d). SeO (Se 50 μg/d) also enhanced T cell proliferation after vaccination (650%), IFN-γ (289%), and IL-8 secretion (139%), granzyme (209%) and perforin (190%) content of CD8 cells but inhibited TNF-α synthesis (42%). Onion on its own reduced the number of NKT cells in blood (38%). These effects were determined by comparison to group-specific baseline yeast or onion control groups. Mucosal flu-specific antibody responses were unaffected by Se-supplementation.
conclusionSe-supplementation in healthy human adults with marginal Se status resulted in both beneficial and detrimental effects on cellular immunity to flu that was affected by the form of Se, supplemental dose and delivery matrix. These observations call for a thorough evaluation of the risks and benefits associated with Se-supplementation.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.