Department of Biochemistry, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 050474 Bucharest, Romania.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Oct 19;24(20):15344. doi: 10.3390/ijms242015344.
Selenoproteins are a group of proteins containing selenium in the form of selenocysteine (Sec, U) as the 21st amino acid coded in the genetic code. Their synthesis depends on dietary selenium uptake and a common set of cofactors. Selenoproteins accomplish diverse roles in the body and cell processes by acting, for example, as antioxidants, modulators of the immune function, and detoxification agents for heavy metals, other xenobiotics, and key compounds in thyroid hormone metabolism. Although the functions of all this protein family are still unknown, several disorders in their structure, activity, or expression have been described by researchers. They concluded that selenium or cofactors deficiency, on the one hand, or the polymorphism in selenoproteins genes and synthesis, on the other hand, are involved in a large variety of pathological conditions, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular, muscular, oncological, hepatic, endocrine, immuno-inflammatory, and neurodegenerative diseases. This review focuses on the specific roles of selenoproteins named after letters of the alphabet in medicine, which are less known than the rest, regarding their implications in the pathological processes of several prevalent diseases and disease prevention.
硒蛋白是一组蛋白质，其形式为硒代半胱氨酸（Sec，U）作为遗传密码中第 21 种氨基酸。它们的合成依赖于膳食硒的摄取和一组共同的辅助因子。硒蛋白通过发挥抗氧化剂、免疫功能调节剂和重金属、其他外源性化合物以及甲状腺激素代谢中关键化合物的解毒剂等作用，在体内和细胞过程中发挥多种作用。尽管该蛋白家族的所有功能仍不清楚，但研究人员已经描述了它们在结构、活性或表达方面的一些异常。他们得出结论，一方面硒或辅助因子缺乏，另一方面硒蛋白基因和合成的多态性，与多种病理状况有关，包括 2 型糖尿病、心血管、肌肉、肿瘤、肝脏、内分泌、免疫炎症和神经退行性疾病。本综述重点介绍了在医学中以字母命名的硒蛋白的特定作用，这些作用比其他作用知之甚少，关于它们在几种常见疾病的病理过程及其预防中的意义。
