Yamashita Y, Yabu T, Yamashita M. Discovery of the strong antioxidant selenoneine in tuna and selenium redox metabolism. World J Biol Chem 2010; 1(5): 144-150 [PMID: 21540999 DOI: 10.4331/wjbc.v1.i5.144]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Michiaki Yamashita, PhD, National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, Fukuura, Yokohama 236-8648, Japan. mic@affrc.go.jp
Article-Type of This Article
Guidelines For Basic Science
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Yumiko Yamashita, Takeshi Yabu, Michiaki Yamashita, National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, Fukuura, Yokohama 236-8648, Japan
Takeshi Yabu, Department of Veterinary Medicine, College of Bioresource Sciences, Nihon University, Fujisawa, 252-8510, Japan
Author contributions: Yamashita Y, Yabu T and Yamashita M contributed to this paper; Yamashita Y designed the research, and contributed to chemical and nutritional analyses of organic selenium; Yabu T contributed to molecular and cell biology of the selenium compound; Yamashita M contributed to characterization of methylmercury accumulation and detoxification mechanisms; Yamashita Y and Yamashita M wrote the paper.
Supported by In part grants from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries of Japan (Rural Biomass Research Project, BM-D2300) and Fisheries Research Agency
Correspondence to: Michiaki Yamashita, PhD, National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, Fukuura, Yokohama 236-8648, Japan. mic@affrc.go.jp
Telephone: +81-45-7887665 Fax: +81-45-7885001
Received: May 10, 2010 Revised: May 17, 2010 Accepted: May 21, 2010 Published online: May 26, 2010
Abstract
A novel selenium-containing compound, selenoneine, has been isolated as the major form of organic selenium in the blood and tissues of tuna. Selenoneine harbors a selenium atom in the imidazole ring, 2-selenyl-Nα, Nα, Nα-trimethyl-L-histidine, and is a selenium analog of ergothioneine. This selenium compound has strong antioxidant capacity and binds to heme proteins, such as hemoglobin and myoglobin, to protect them from iron auto-oxidation, and it reacts with radicals and methylmercury (MeHg). The organic cations/carnitine transporter OCTN1 transports selenoneine and MeHg, regulates Se-enhanced antioxidant activity, and decreases MeHg toxicity. Thus, the dietary intake of selenoneine, by consuming fish, might decrease the formation of reactive oxygen radicals that could oxidize nucleotides in DNA, and thereby inhibit carcinogenesis, chronic diseases, and aging.
