et al. 2000; Small-Howard et al. 2006; Howard et al. 2007). Adequate selenium intake is important in maintaining proper translation and function of the selenoproteins (Bermano et al. 1996; Wingler & Brigelius-Flohe 1999). Therefore, maintenance of selenoprotein function may be the mechanism by which supplemental selenium intake exerts a beneficial health effect. In particular, the primary function of SelP is thought to be selenium distribution and the majority of the protein is synthesized in the liver for this purpose. However, most tissues can express SEPP1; suggesting alternative functions beyond selenium delivery may exist for SelP (Burk & Hill 2005) as well as the possibility of tissue selective modulation of SEPP1 expression.
