settingsOrder Article Reprints Open AccessArticle Selenite Downregulates STAT3 Expression and Provokes Lymphocytosis in the Liver of Chronically Exposed Syrian Golden Hamsters by María Elena Camacho-Moll 1,2ORCID,Adriana Sampayo-Reyes 3,Fabiola Castorena-Torres 4ORCID,Gerardo Lozano-Garza 1,Gabriela Alarcón-Galván 2,Alba Hernández 5,6,Ricard Marcos 5,6ORCID,Juan Manuel Alcocer-González 3ORCID,Reyes Tamez-Guerra 3 andMario Bermúdez de León 1,2,*ORCID 1 Centro de Investigación Biomédica del Noreste, Departamento de Biología Molecular, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, Monterrey 64720, Nuevo León, Mexico 2 Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Vicerrectoría de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de Monterrey, San Pedro Garza García 66238, Nuevo León, Mexico 3 Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, San Nicolás de los Garza 66455, Nuevo León, Mexico 4 Escuela de Medicina, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey 64710, Nuevo León, Mexico 5 Grup de Mutagènesi, Departament de Genètica i de Microbiologia, Facultat de Biociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Spain 6 Consortium for Biomedical Research in Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Carlos III Institute of Health, 28029 Madrid, Spain * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Molecules 2021, 26(18), 5614; https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules26185614 Submission received: 7 July 2021 / Revised: 30 August 2021 / Accepted: 4 September 2021 / Published: 16 September 2021 (This article belongs to the Topic Development of Protective Therapies Facing Toxic Environmental Exposures) Downloadkeyboard_arrow_down Browse Figures Review Reports Versions Notes Abstract Arsenic is considered a worldwide pollutant that can be present in drinking water. Arsenic exposure is associated with various diseases, including cancer. Antioxidants as selenite and α-tocopherol-succinate have been shown to modulate arsenic toxic effects. Since changes in STAT3 and PSMD10 gene expression have been associated with carcinogenesis, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of arsenic exposure and co-treatments with selenite or α-tocopherol-succinate on the expression of these genes, in the livers of chronically exposed Syrian golden hamsters. Animals were divided into six groups: (i) control, (ii) chronically treated with 100 ppm arsenic, (iii) treated with 6 ppm α-tocopherol-succinate (α-TOS), (iv) treated with 8.5 ppm selenite, (v) treated with arsenic + α-TOS, and (vi) treated with arsenic + selenite. Urine samples and livers were collected after 20 weeks of continuous exposure. The urine samples were analyzed for arsenic species by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and real-time RT-qPCR analysis was performed for gene expression evaluation. A reduction in STAT3 expression was observed in the selenite-treated group. No differences in PSMD10 expression were found among groups. Histopathological analysis revealed hepatic lymphocytosis in selenite-treated animals. As a conclusion, long-term exposure to arsenic does not significantly alter the expression of STAT3 and PSMD10 oncogenes in the livers of hamsters; however, selenite down-regulates STAT3 expression and provokes lymphocytosis.