What is it about?
Selenium is an essential trace element in the diet, which is toxic in excess. It exerts effects in the body by incorporation into the rare 21st amino acid selenocytsteine, which is incorporated into a small set of proteins, called selenoproteins. Most selenoproteins contain just one selenocysteine, but one called selenoprotein P has 10 in humans and up to 132 in some molluscs. The aim of this review is to examine why selenoprotein P contains multiple selenocysteines.
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Why is it important?
By examining other organisms, we can gain insights into the roles of proteins in humans. In collaboration with several other laboratories, we have found that certain groups of animals have proteins related to selenoprotein P that contain more than ten times the number of selenocysteines than human selenoprotein P. This has lead us to the idea that, in addition to a role in selenium storage, selenoprotein P has a key role in male fertility.
Perspectives
This work is important to me because it is the product of an enjoyable collaboration between several research groups and in particular, of the co-supervision of a talented, personable and industrious PhD student.
John Mackrill
University College Cork
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Why Multiples of 21? Why does Selenoprotein P Contain Multiple Selenocysteine Residues?, Current Nutraceuticals, April 2020, Bentham Science Publishers,
DOI: 10.2174/2665978601666200213120929.
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