"Nature" Stanford University What disease-causing changes occur in aging ribosomes

To address this question, researchers in the lab of Judith Frydman, the Donald Kennedy Chair in the Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences, focused on how age affects the function of ribosomes -- the ribosomes responsible for converting messenger RNA into proteins cellular mechanism

"We already know that protein aggregation with age is a problem associated with many diseases

a fragile time

If folded correctly, proteins can perform their functions and remain soluble in the cellular environment

To prevent the continued production of misfolded proteins, cells have specialized "quality control" mechanisms to fix or degrade misfolded proteins

"A protein's most fragile, critical moment in life -- when it's most prone to misfolding -- is when it's made," said Frydman, a professor of biology and genetics

First, the researchers used a technique called ribosome mapping, which allows them to see exactly how ribosomes move on messenger RNA during translation

"There are two situations where aging causes an increase in ribosomal collisions and a stall, but the cell loses its safety net to deal with it," explains Stein

In follow-up experiments with C.

"Normally, every cell makes millions of these newly translated proteins," Frydman said

To make matters worse, through further experiments with yeast and C.

millions of questions

While this study is the first to reveal some interesting insights into the mechanisms of aging, it also raises many questions for the future

Given the similarities between the aging processes in yeast, C.

"This is just the beginning of a very fascinating future," said study co-author Fabián Morales-Polanco, a postdoctoral scholar in Friedman's lab

Kevin C.