Selenium is an essential trace element for human being and its biological functions are mainly carried out by selenoproteins. Selenoprotein S(SELENOS) mainly localizes to the endoplasmic reticulum(ER) membrane and is involved in the process of ER-associated degradation. The biological functions of SELENOS are mainly carried out through the coiled-coil domain and C-terminal disordered structure region containing selenocysteine residue in the cytosol. A large number of in vitro studies have shown that SELENOS participates in the regulation of oxidative stress, ER stress and inflammation, and thus is possibly involved in the development of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, the observational epidemiological studies have found that many single nucleotide polymorphisms in the SELENOS gene are closely associated with cardiovascular disease and cancer. This paper reviews the structure and function of SELENOS and its relationship with diseases. The problems remaining to be solved are summarized and the future developments are prospected.
Contents
1 Introduction
2 Expression pattern, structure, and distribution of SELENOS
3 The biological function of SELENOS
3.1 Regulation of oxidative stress
3.2 Regulation of endoplasmic reticulum stress
3.3 Regulation of inflammation
4 The relationship of SELENOS with diseases
4.1 Cardiovascular diseases
4.2 Type 2 diabetes
4.3 Cancer
4.4 Alzheimer's disease
5 Conclusion and outlook