A Small Change in the Ribosome Reduces Protein Synthesis Errors and Modestly Extends Lifespan in Short-Lived Species

The ribosome is a cellular structure responsible for the translation stage of protein manufacture, in which proteins are assembled from amino acids according to the blueprint provided by a messenger RNA molecule. In today's research materials, scientists report that a small change in a ribosomal protein, found in heat-tolerant organisms, has interesting effects when introduced into short-lived laboratory species via genetic engineering. The outcome is a reduction in the error rate for protein manufacture, an increased heat tolerance, and a modestly extended life span. It is worth noting that life span increases of this degree in very short-lived species such as yeast, flies, and worms should not be expected to appear in humans when the same approach is taken in our species. Very short-lived species have highly plastic life spans, particularly when it comes to approaches that improve the quality control of proteins in the cell, such as by increasing the efficiency of autophagy or proteasomal function in order to clear damaged proteins. As species life span increases, the effects of such interventions diminish. This is likely because longer-lived species have already evolved mechanisms that compensate in other ways, a necessary precondition for their longer life spans. Nonetheless, this work on the ribosome, at the other end of the spectrum of protein quality control mechanisms, is interesting when considered in the context of the naked mole-rat, which lives nine ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs