Selenoprotein W as a molecular target of d-amino acid oxidase is regulated by d-amino acid in chicken neurons

Abstract

Selenoprotein W (SelW) is an important member of the avian selenoprotein family. It is well known for its important role in protecting neurons from oxidative stress during neuronal development. D-Amino acid (D-serine), as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS), can mediate neurotoxicity. D-Amino acid oxidase (DAAO) is responsible for regulating the D-serine levels in cells. However, the correlation between SelW and DAAO is not clear yet. To investigate the regulations between SelW and DAAO, chicken embryo monolayer neurons were treated with D-serine and/or Se. In this study, we predicted molecular binding between SelW and DAAO. These results showed that the 9–16, 18, 41–47 and 66 residues of SelW could combine with the DAAO, which suggested that chicken SelW might be the target of DAAO. We determined the DAAO activity and the mRNA expression of SelW in in vitro cultured chicken embryo primitive neuron cells. D-Serine influenced the activity of DAAO and, moreover, a significant increase in the mRNA expression of SelW was found in neurons treated with Se. Notably, we also observed changes in the expression of SelW and DAAO when neurons were treated with various concentrations of D-serine and Se. In conclusion, these data suggest that D-serine could regulate the mRNA expression of SelW by interfering with the activity of DAAO in chicken embryo neurons.