小鼠 Selk (NM_019979) cDNA克隆

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. Studies in human show that this selenoprotein is highly expressed in the heart, where it may function as an antioxidant. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008]