SEPN1

Selenoprotein N is a protein that in humans is encoded by the SEPN1 gene.

Function

This gene encodes a selenoprotein, which contains a selenocysteine (Sec) residue at its active site. The selenocysteine is encoded by the UGA codon that normally signals translation termination. The 3' UTR of selenoprotein genes have a common stem-loop structure, the sec insertion sequence (SECIS), that is necessary for the recognition of UGA as a Sec codon rather than as a stop signal. Mutations in this gene cause the classical phenotype of multiminicore disease and congenital muscular dystrophy with spinal rigidity and restrictive respiratory syndrome. Two alternatively spliced transcript variants encoding distinct isoforms have been found for this gene.

Model organisms

Sepn1 knockout mouse phenotype

Characteristic	Phenotype
Homozygote viability	Normal
Fertility	Normal
Body weight	Normal
Anxiety	Normal
Neurological assessment	Normal
Grip strength	Normal
Hot plate	Normal
Dysmorphology	Normal
Indirect calorimetry	Normal
Glucose tolerance test	Normal
Auditory brainstem response	Normal
DEXA	Normal
Radiography	Abnormal
Body temperature	Normal
Eye morphology	Normal
Clinical chemistry	Normal
Haematology	Normal
Peripheral blood lymphocytes	Normal
Micronucleus test	Normal
Heart weight	Normal
Skin Histopathology	Normal
Brain histopathology	Normal
Eye Histopathology	Normal
Salmonella infection	Normal
Citrobacter infection	Normal
All tests and analysis from

Model organisms have been used in the study of SEPN1 function. A conditional knockout mouse line, called Sepn1^{tm1a(KOMP)Wtsi} was generated as part of the International Knockout Mouse Consortium program — a high-throughput mutagenesis project to generate and distribute animal models of disease to interested scientists.

Male and female animals underwent a standardized phenotypic screen to determine the effects of deletion. Twenty five tests were carried out on homozygous mutant mice and one significant abnormality was observed: than animals displayed vertebral fusion.

External links

• GeneReviews/NCBI/NIH/UW entry on Congenital Muscular Dystrophy Overview
• GeneReviews/NCBI/NIH/UW entry on Multiminicore Disease