Review Volume 11, Issue 8 pp 2512—2540
Impaired ribosome biogenesis: mechanisms and relevance to cancer and aging
- 1 Institute of Molecular and Translational Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Palacky University, 779 00 Olomouc, Czech Republic
Received: December 11, 2018 Accepted: April 4, 2019 Published: April 26, 2019
https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.101922How to Cite
Copyright: Turi et al. This is an open‐access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
The biosynthesis of ribosomes is a complex process that requires the coordinated action of many factors and a huge energy investment from the cell. Ribosomes are essential for protein production, and thus for cellular survival, growth and proliferation. Ribosome biogenesis is initiated in the nucleolus and includes: the synthesis and processing of ribosomal RNAs, assembly of ribosomal proteins, transport to the cytoplasm and association of ribosomal subunits. The disruption of ribosome biogenesis at various steps, with either increased or decreased expression of different ribosomal components, can promote cell cycle arrest, senescence or apoptosis. Additionally, interference with ribosomal biogenesis is often associated with cancer, aging and age-related degenerative diseases. Here, we review current knowledge on impaired ribosome biogenesis, discuss the main factors involved in stress responses under such circumstances and focus on examples with clinical relevance.