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. This protein shows highest expression in skeletal muscle and heart, and may be involved in oxidation-reduction reactions. A retroprocessed pseudogene, SEPW1P, has been identified and mapped to chromosome 1p35-34. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008].
Shin, Cha, Park, Kim, Kim, Park: "Selenoprotein W deficiency does not affect oxidative stress and insulin sensitivity in the skeletal muscle of high-fat diet-fed obese mice." in: American journal of physiology. Cell physiology, Vol. 317, Issue 6, pp. C1172-C1182, (2019) (PubMed).
Whanger: "Selenoprotein W: a review." in: Cellular and molecular life sciences : CMLS, Vol. 57, Issue 13-14, pp. 1846-52, (2001) (PubMed).
Gu, Sun, Ream, Whanger: "Selenoprotein W accumulates primarily in primate skeletal muscle, heart, brain and tongue." in: Molecular and cellular biochemistry, Vol. 204, Issue 1-2, pp. 49-56, (2000) (PubMed).