Contribution of mammalian selenocysteine-containing proteins to carcinogenesis

Oxidative stress caused by a sharp growth of free radicals in the organism is a major cause underlying the occurrence of all kinds of malignant formations. Selenium is an important essential trace element found in selenoproteins in the form of selenocysteine, an amino acid differing from cysteine for the presence of selenium instead of sulfur and making such proteins highly active. To date the role of selenium has been extensively investigated through studying the functions of selenoproteins in carcinogenesis. Analysis of the obtained results clearly demonstrates that selenoproteins can act as oncosuppressors, but can also, on the contrary, favor the formation of malignant tumors.