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Published on: May 29, 2020
Human SepSecS or SLA/LP: selenocysteine formation and autoimmune hepatitis
Sotiria Palioura1, Johannes Herkel, Miljan Simonović
1Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-8114, USA.
Abstract:
Selenocysteine, the 21st genetically encoded amino acid, is the major form of the antioxidant trace element selenium in the human body. In eukaryotes and archaea its synthesis proceeds through a phosphorylated intermediate in a tRNA-dependent fashion. The final step of selenocysteine formation is catalyzed by O-phosphoseryl-tRNA:selenocysteinyl-tRNA synthase (SepSecS) that converts phosphoseryl-tRNA(Sec) to selenocysteinyl-tRNA(Sec). The human SepSecS protein is also known as soluble liver antigen/liver pancreas (SLA/LP), which represents one of the antigens of autoimmune hepatitis. Here we review the discovery of human SepSecS and the current understanding of the immunogenicity of SLA/LP in autoimmune hepatitis.
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