SELENOW - selenoprotein W Gene

Also known as SEPW1

About SELENOW

Summary

This gene encodes a selenoprotein containing a selenocysteine (Sec) residue, which is encoded by the UGA codon that normally signals translation termination. The 3' UTRs of selenoprotein mRNAs contain a conserved stem-loop structure, the Sec insertion sequence (SECIS) element that is necessary for the recognition of UGA as a Sec codon rather than as a stop signal. This protein is highly expressed in skeletal muscle and brain. It belongs to the SelWTH family, which possesses a thioredoxin-like fold and a conserved CxxU (C is cysteine, U is Sec) motif, suggesting a redox function for this gene. Studies in mouse show that this selenoprotein is involved in muscle growth and differentiation, and in the protection of neurons from oxidative stress during neuronal development. Pseudogenes of this locus have been identified on chromosomes 7 and 19. [provided by RefSeq, Aug 2017]