Selenoprotein H is an essential regulator of redox homeostasis that cooperates with p53 in development and tumorigenesis.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
Authors
Abstract

Selenium, an essential micronutrient known for its cancer prevention properties, is incorporated into a class of selenocysteine-containing proteins (selenoproteins). Selenoprotein H (SepH) is a recently identified nucleolar oxidoreductase whose function is not well understood. Here we report that seph is an essential gene regulating organ development in zebrafish. Metabolite profiling by targeted LC-MS/MS demonstrated that SepH deficiency impairs redox balance by reducing the levels of ascorbate and methionine, while increasing methionine sulfoxide. Transcriptome analysis revealed that SepH deficiency induces an inflammatory response and activates the p53 pathway. Consequently, loss of seph renders larvae susceptible to oxidative stress and DNA damage. Finally, we demonstrate that seph interacts with p53 deficiency in adulthood to accelerate gastrointestinal tumor development. Overall, our findings establish that seph regulates redox homeostasis and suppresses DNA damage. We hypothesize that SepH deficiency may contribute to the increased cancer risk observed in cohorts with low selenium levels.

Year of Publication
2016
Journal
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
Volume
113
Issue
38
Pages
E5562-71
Date Published
2016 Sep 20
ISSN
1091-6490
DOI
10.1073/pnas.1600204113
PubMed ID
27588899
PubMed Central ID
PMC5035897
Links
Grant list
R24 OD017870 / OD / NIH HHS / United States
P01 CA120964 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States
T32 GM007753 / GM / NIGMS NIH HHS / United States
P30 DK034854 / DK / NIDDK NIH HHS / United States
K08 CA172288 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States
R01 GM079465 / GM / NIGMS NIH HHS / United States
R01 GM061603 / GM / NIGMS NIH HHS / United States
P30 CA006516 / CA / NCI NIH HHS / United States
R01 DK090311 / DK / NIDDK NIH HHS / United States