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Posted on Jun 04, 2014, 6 a.m.
Proteins containing selenium exert an important antioxidant role in human health.
Selenium is a mineral that plays a role in aging, cancer and chronic diseases, with selenoproteins – proteins that incorporate selenium through the use of an amino acid – now identified as having an important role in antioxidant defense mechanisms. Sharon Rozovsky, from the University of Delaware (Delaware, USA), and colleagues employed state-of-the-science analysis techniques to study selenium in redox biology, revealing the molecular basis by which selenoproteins exert their antioxidant effects.
Li F, Lutz PB, Pepelyayeva Y, Arnér ES, Bayse CA, Rozovsky S. “Redox active motifs in selenoproteins.” Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2014 May 13;111(19):6976-81.
