Ribosome
Definition
The machine that reads messenger RNA and assembles proteins from amino acids. Synthetic peptides bypass it entirely, which is why a synthetic sequence can contain D-amino acids and unnatural residues that no ribosome would incorporate.
What this means for research sourcing
Cell-biology terms provide context for interpreting peptide research at the cellular level. See how these concepts apply to compounds Volta supplies for study.
Related Terms in Cell Biology
Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER)
The folded membrane network where secreted and membrane proteins are assembled and folded, and where lipids are made. A targeting sequence is what routes a nascent protein into it.
Golgi Apparatus
The stack of membranes that finishes proteins arriving from the ER, adding or trimming sugars and sorting them to their destinations. Many peptide hormones are cut from a larger precursor on the way through it.
Cardiolipin
A phospholipid found almost only in the inner mitochondrial membrane, where the respiratory complexes depend on it. Damage to it is tied to ageing and metabolic disease, and SS-31 is studied because it binds cardiolipin selectively.
Cristae
The inward folds of the inner mitochondrial membrane, which hold the electron transport chain and ATP synthase. How tightly folded they are sets how much respiratory machinery a mitochondrion can carry, so cristae architecture is an efficiency measure.
Autophagy
The process by which a cell encloses its own damaged proteins and organelles and digests them, recycling the parts. Fasting and AMPK activation both raise it, and it is one of the better-established links between energy state and maintenance.
Apoptosis
Programmed cell death: an orderly self-destruct a cell runs when it is damaged or surplus, in contrast to the inflammatory mess of necrosis. Senolytics work by restoring it in senescent cells that have become resistant.
Mitochondrial Biogenesis
Building new mitochondria, which raises a cell's aerobic capacity. Endurance exercise is its best-established trigger; MOTS-c and AICAR are studied for driving it pharmacologically through AMPK.
Oxidative Stress
An imbalance in which reactive oxygen species outrun a cell's antioxidant defences and begin damaging lipids, proteins and DNA. Mitochondria are both the main source and a main casualty, which is why mitochondrial peptides are measured against it.