Selenium containing compounds: from poison to drug candidates (A review on the GPx-like activity)

Abstract: Oxidative stress results from the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as peroxides that cause damage to cell membranes and react with various biomolecules in mammalian cells. The selenoenzyme glutathione peroxidase (GPx) destroys peroxides by catalyzing their reduction to alcohols or water with the stoichiometric reductant glutathione. The effects of oxidative stress have been implicated in a variety of degenerative processes and disease states and for these reasons, there is considerable interest in the discovery of small molecule compounds that could reproduce a GPx-like activity.A review on the most recent acquisition in this area is here reported