Antioxidant effects on cell-mediated immunity.

Experiments were performed to determine the effects of dietary selenium and/or vitamin E deficiency on cell-mediated cytotoxicity in the mouse. Natural killer cell-mediated cytotoxicity (NKCC) was depressed after 8 wk on diets deficient in selenium and/or vitamin E. In contrast, antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) was not affected by 8 wk of dietary deficiency of selenium and/or vitamin E. T-lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity (TCMC) was found to be depressed by combined selenium-vitamin E deficiency after 7 weeks on diets.