antioxidants Article Selenomethionine (Se-Met) Induces the Cystine/Glutamate Exchanger SLC7A11 in Cultured Human Retinal Pigment Epithelial (RPE) Cells: Implications for Antioxidant Therapy in Aging Retina Sudha Ananth 1, Seiji Miyauchi 1,†, Muthusamy Thangaraju 1, Ravirajsinh N. Jadeja 1,2 , Manuela Bartoli 2,3, Vadivel Ganapathy 4 and Pamela M. Martin 1,2,3,5,* 1 Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912, USA;
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[email protected]; Tel.: +706-721-4220; Fax: +706-721-6608 † Present affiliation—Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, Funabashi, Chiba 274-8510, Japan. Abstract: Oxidative damage has been identified as a major causative factor in degenerative diseases of the retina; retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells are at high risk. Hence, identifying novel strategies for increasing the antioxidant capacity of RPE cells, the purpose of this study, is important. Specifically, we evaluated the influence of selenium in the form of selenomethionine (Se-Met) in cultured RPE cells Citation: Ananth, S.; Miyauchi, S.; on system xc- expression and functional activity and on cellular levels of glutathione, a major cellular Thangaraju, M.; Jadeja, R.N.; Bartoli, antioxidant.