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Review
. 2023 Dec 25;29(1):136.
doi: 10.3390/molecules29010136.

Selenoproteins in Health

Ziqi Qi  1 , Alex Duan  2 , Ken Ng  1
Affiliations
Review

Selenoproteins in Health

Ziqi Qi et al. Molecules. .

Abstract

Selenium (Se) is a naturally occurring essential micronutrient that is required for human health. The existing form of Se includes inorganic and organic. In contrast to the inorganic Se, which has low bioavailability and high cytotoxicity, organic Se exhibits higher bioavailability, lower toxicity, and has a more diverse composition and structure. This review presents the nutritional benefits of Se by listing and linking selenoprotein (SeP) functions to evidence of health benefits. The research status of SeP from foods in recent years is introduced systematically, particularly the sources, biochemical transformation and speciation, and the bioactivities. These aspects are elaborated with references for further research and utilization of organic Se compounds in the field of health.

Keywords: bioaccessibility; bioactivity; food resources; selenium; selenoprotein.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic overview of Se metabolism in plants leading to the production of organic Se. APR: adenosine phosphosulfate reductase; APSe: adenosine phosphoselenate; ATPS: adenosine triphosphate sulfurylase; CβL: cysthathionine-β-lyase; CγS: cysthathionine−γ−synthase; DMDSe: dimethyldiselenide; DMSe: dimethylselenide; DMSeP: dimethylselenopropionate; γ−GCS: γ−glutamylcysteine synthetase; γ−Glu-SeCys: γ−glutamyl-SeCys; γ−Glu-SeMet: γ−glutamyl-SeMet; Glu: glutamate; MetMT: methionine methyltransferase; MetS: methionine synthase; OAS: O-acetylserine; OAS−TL: OAS thiol lyase; OPH: O−phosphohomoserine; SeCys: selenocysteine; SeMet: selenomethionine; SiR: sulfite reductase (or glutathione); SeCysMT: SeCys methyltransferase.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Metabolism of dietary selenium and selenoprotein biosynthesis pathway in the body. (a) Metabolism of dietary selenium in the body. (b) Mechanism of SeCys biosynthesis in eukaryotes and the SeCys machinery-based pathway for synthesis of Cys. This includes the delivery of tRNA with SeCys to an internal UGA stop codon. ADP: adenosine diphosphate; AMP: adenosine monophosphate; ATP: adenosine triphosphate; EFsec: selenocysteine-specific translation elongation factor; Cys: cysteine; GSH: reduced glutathione; GSSG: glutathione disulfide; GSSeH: glutathioselenol; GSSeSG: selenodiglutathione; MeSeCys: methylselenocysteine or Se-methylselenocysteine; Pi: phosphate; PPi: pyrophosphate; PSTK: phosphoseryl-tRNA kinase; GPx: glutathione peroxidase; SBP2: SECIS-binding protein 2; SECIS: selenocysteine insertion sequence; SeCys: selenocysteine; Sec: SeCys; SeCysS: SeCys synthase; SeMet: selenomethionine; SEP2: SECIS-binding protein 2; SPS2: selenophosphate synthetase 2; Ser: serine; SerRS: seryl-tRNA synthetase; Sec-tRNA[Ser]Sec: selenocysteyl-tRNA[Ser]Sec; Ser-tRNA[Ser]Sec: seryl-tRNA[Ser]Sec; PSer-tRNA[Ser]Sec: phosphoseryl-tRNA[Ser]Sec; TrxR: thioredoxin reductase; Trx: thioredoxin.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Schematic overview of deiodinase isoforms reactions. DIO1: deiodinase 1; DIO2: deiodinase 2; DIO3: deiodinase 3.
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