This gene encodes a selenoprotein, which contains a selenocysteine (Sec) residue at its active site. The selenocysteine is encoded by the UGA codon that normally signals translation termination. The 3' UTR of selenoprotein genes have a common stem-loop structure, the sec insertion sequence (SECIS), that is necessary for the recognition of UGA as a Sec codon rather than as a stop signal. This protein shows highest expression in skeletal muscle and heart, and may be involved in oxidation-reduction reactions. A retroprocessed pseudogene, SEPW1P, has been identified and mapped to chromosome 1p35-34.[6]
^"Human PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
^"Mouse PubMed Reference:". National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
^Gu QP, Beilstein MA, Vendeland SC, Lugade A, Ream W, Whanger PD (July 1997). "Conserved features of selenocysteine insertion sequence (SECIS) elements in selenoprotein W cDNAs from five species". Gene. 193 (2): 187–96. doi:10.1016/S0378-1119(97)00113-3. PMID9256076.
Smith JS, Tachibana I, Pohl U, Lee HK, Thanarajasingam U, Portier BP, Ueki K, Ramaswamy S, Billings SJ, Mohrenweiser HW, Louis DN, Jenkins RB (February 2000). "A transcript map of the chromosome 19q-arm glioma tumor suppressor region". Genomics. 64 (1): 44–50. doi:10.1006/geno.1999.6101. PMID10708517.
Bellingham J, Gregory-Evans K, Fox MF, Gregory-Evans CY (June 2003). "Gene structure and tissue expression of human selenoprotein W, SEPW1, and identification of a retroprocessed pseudogene, SEPW1P". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Gene Structure and Expression. 1627 (2–3): 140–6. doi:10.1016/s0167-4781(03)00078-2. PMID12818432.
Kim YJ, Chai YG, Ryu JC (May 2005). "Selenoprotein W as molecular target of methylmercury in human neuronal cells is down-regulated by GSH depletion". Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 330 (4): 1095–102. doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2005.03.080. PMID15823556.
