Zhang · Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) 2020 · narrative review · n=?

Role of Selenoproteins in Redox Regulation of Signaling and the Antioxidant System: A Review.

Cited 258 times in the scientific literature.

Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data

Narrative review of biological mechanisms without systematic review methodology or primary empirical data

PubMed 32380763 · doi:10.3390/antiox9050383 · record verified 2026-08-30

What was done

The authors reviewed published literature on the biological roles of the 25 human selenoproteins, specifically evaluating their selenocysteine-dependent oxidoreductase activity, cellular antioxidant functions, redox signaling pathways, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress regulation, and involvement in disease states.

What was found

The abstract provides a descriptive mechanistic overview and does not report numerical data or effect sizes. It outlines the specific functions of key human selenoproteins: glutathione peroxidases scavenge hydrogen and lipid peroxides; thioredoxin reductases reduce oxidized thioredoxins and lipid hydroperoxides; selenoprotein R reduces methionine-R-sulfoxide to methionine; selenoprotein O mediates protein AMPylation in redox homeostasis; ER membrane selenoproteins (SelI, K, N, S, and Sel15) manage ER stress; and CXXU-motif selenoproteins (SelH, M, T, V, and W) act as putative oxidoreductases in redox-dependent cellular processes.

Why it matters

The paper provides a comprehensive structural and functional taxonomy of human selenoproteins, summarizing how selenocysteine-driven enzymatic pathways maintain intracellular redox balance and protein homeostasis.

Limits

As a narrative review, it lacks a systematic search protocol, risk of bias assessment, or statistical aggregation of evidence. No primary clinical, in vivo, or quantitative outcome data are presented in the abstract.

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