Description

The protein encoded by this gene belongs to the pyridine nucleotide-disulfide oxidoreductase family, and is a member of the thioredoxin (Trx) system. Three thioredoxin reductase (TrxR) isozymes are found in mammals. TrxRs are selenocysteine-containing flavoenzymes, which reduce thioredoxins, as well as other substrates, and play a key role in redox homoeostasis. This gene encodes an ubiquitously expressed, cytosolic form of TrxR, which functions as a homodimer containing FAD, and selenocysteine (Sec) at the active site. Sec is encoded by UGA codon that normally signals translation termination. The 3′ UTRs of selenoprotein mRNAs contain a conserved stem-loop structure, the Sec insertion sequence (SECIS) element, which is necessary for the recognition of UGA as a Sec codon rather than as a stop signal. Alternative splicing, primarily at the 5′ end, results in transcript variants encoding same or different isoforms, including a glutaredoxin-containing isoform that is predominantly expressed in testis.