To date various bioinformatics tools allowed to identify 25 selenocysteine-containing mammalian proteins. The name of these proteins assumes that they contain the amino acid selenocysteine (Sec). Functionally characterized selenocysteine-containing proteins are oxidoreductases with various functions, including glutathione peroxidases, thioredoxin reductases, deiodinases etc. However, the functions of more than half of identified proteins are still unclear, and mammalian selenoprotein SeIV is among them. We studied the selV in all stages of postnatal development with the maximum level of mRNA expression during puberty, whereas in adult mice (8-18 months) we observed a gradual decrease of expression. In order to get closer to the functional role of Selenoprotein V, we have carried out experiments on the substrate specificity and enzymatic activity measurement of this selenocysteine-containing protein. It was shown that SelV posseses glutathionperoxidase and thioredoxinreductase activities.
Keywords: Selenocysteine; cysteine; oxidoreductases; protein activity; selenoproteins.