Formation of dimethyl selenide and trimethylselenonium from selenobetaine in the rat.

The 24-h respiratory excretion of dimethyl selenide (DMSe) and urinary excretion of trimethylselenonium (TMSe) were studied in adult male rats injected with 2 mg Se/kg as selenobetaine [(CH3)2Se+CH2COOH] or its methyl ester, labeled with 75Se and 14C. The DMSe was trapped by means of 20% benzyl chloride in xylene. TMSe was measured by cation exchange high performance liquid chromatography. There was extensive respiratory excretion of DMSe from selenobetaine methyl ester (about 50% of the dose) and from selenobetaine (about 25%). About 12% of the dose was converted to TMSe for both compounds. When the Se-methyl carbons were labeled with 14C and the selenium with 75Se, doubly labeled DMSe and TMSe were formed; the 14C/75Se ratio in DMSe formed from selenobetaine methyl ester was almost unchanged from that administered, and the ratio in TMSe was only slightly lower than in DMSe. In contrast to its ester, doubly labeled selenobetaine yielded DMSe having a lower 14C/75Se ratio (approximately one-half of that administered) and a further decrease was observed between DMSe and TMSe. These data indicate that the (CH3)2Se moiety in selenobetaine methyl ester undergoes facile release to form DMSe, which is directly methylated to form TMSe. Selenobetaine, however, appears to lose a methyl group prior to scission of the Se-CH2COOH bond. The results with selenobetaine also suggest that TMSe generated metabolically is not inert, and can undergo demethylation followed by remethylation; confirmatory evidence for this metabolic instability is provided by the exhalation of [75Se]DMSe after the direct administration of [75Se]TMSe. When [75Se]selenobetaine or its ester was given with the methylene carbon in the acetic acid moiety labeled with 14C, only 75Se was present in the DMSe and TMSe, indicating that TMSe did not arise by decarboxylation of selenobetaine. It is concluded that both selenobetaine and its methyl ester are readily converted to DMSe and TMSe by pathways that do not involve decarboxylation or the formation of hydrogen selenide as an intermediate, and DMSe is a direct precursor of TMSe.