Selenium and selenoproteins in viral infection with potential relevance to COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: Selenium is a trace element essential to human health largely because of its incorporation into selenoproteins that have a wide range of protective functions. Selenium has an ongoing history of reducing the incidence and severity of various viral infections; for example, a German study found selenium status to be significantly higher in serum samples from surviving than non-surviving COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, a significant, positive, linear association was found between the cure rate of Chinese patients with COVID-19 and regional selenium status. Moreover, the cure rate continued to rise beyond the selenium intake required to optimise selenoproteins, suggesting that selenoproteins are probably not the whole story. Nonetheless, the significantly reduced expression of a number of selen

SUBMITTER: Zhang J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7481318 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature