Key points from article :
A new study may have uncovered a key reason why cells — particularly brain cells — age. Led by Alessandro Cellerino at the Leibniz Institute on Aging in Germany and published in Nature, the research examined the brains of ageing killifish and found that a crucial step in protein production begins to fail with age. Specifically, ribosomes — the cellular machines that read mRNA to assemble proteins — start to stall when they encounter codons for two amino acids, arginine and lysine. This results in incomplete proteins and a breakdown in the production of essential DNA- and RNA-binding proteins.
These particular proteins are vital for many cellular processes, including making and splicing RNA, repairing DNA, and maintaining overall cellular function. As ribosomes stall more frequently on the mRNA sequences that encode these proteins, their reduced production may create a domino effect. The ribosomes themselves rely on RNA-binding proteins to function properly, meaning the system begins to collapse on itself — a vicious cycle of protein production failure that may underlie several hallmarks of ageing.
This cellular slowdown also triggers stress responses, including chronic inflammation — a well-known contributor to cognitive decline and neurodegenerative diseases. Cellerino’s findings suggest that ribosome stalling could be a fundamental driver of brain ageing, not just a symptom. Experimental drugs that block the inflammation caused by this stalling are already being studied as possible therapies for age-related brain conditions.
While the findings are currently limited to fish, early research in humans shows similar patterns, such as the loss of RNA-binding proteins in ageing neurons. However, more work is needed to confirm if the same ribosome-stalling mechanism occurs in human brains and across different organs. Still, this discovery opens new avenues for understanding — and potentially slowing — the biological ageing process.
