Methylseleninic acid for COVID-19

COVID-19 patients suffer from detrimental effects of cytokine storm and not much success has been achieved to overcome this issue. We sought to test the ability of selenium in reducing the impact of the two important cytokine storm players; IL-6 and TNF-α. The effects of four selenium compounds were evaluated on the secretion of these cytokines from THP-1 macrophages in vitro following LPS challenge. Also, potential impact of methylseleninic acid (MSeA) on Nrf2 and IκBα was determined after short treatment of THP-1 macrophages. MSeA was found to be the most potent selenium form among the four selenium compounds tested that reduced IL-6 and TNF-α levels being secreted by THP-1 macrophages. In addition, an increase in Nrf2 and decrease in pIκBα in human macrophages was observed following MSeA treatment. Our data indicate that COVID-19 patients might benefit by suppressing their cytokine storm with addition of MSeA to the standard therapy.