Selenium-containing Catalytic Antibodies

Abstract

As an essential trace element, selenium is closely related to human health and disease, especially the unique role in selenoenzyme glutathione peroxidase (GPx). GPx is a well-known selenoenzyme that functions as an antioxidant and catalyzes the reduction of harmful peroxide by glutathione and protects cells against oxidative damage. However, the shortcomings of native GPx, such as instability and poor availability, have limited its application. Many GPx mimics have been developed, but they have serious disadvantages. They are short of substrate binding sites, preventing them from firmly binding to the glutathione (GSH) substrate. Nevertheless, a substrate binding site can be easily generated using standard monoclonal antibody preparation technique if substrate analog is used as hapten. In this chapter, we introduce the preparation and antioxidant effects of selenium-containing catalytic antibodies, including mouse/human seleniumcontaining a monoclonal antibody (McAb) and single-chain variable fragments of antibodies (scFv) with GPx activities.