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For the first time, a ribosome has been created that works in living cells
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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Biologists have succeeded for the first time in producing a ribosome (a non-membrane cell organelle responsible for protein synthesis) in laboratory conditions. The group of researchers published the results of their work in one of the scientific journals and this discovery, according to some experts, will help in the development of new drugs and biological materials.
Scientists named the artificial cell organoid Ribo-T and noted that the mechanism of operation is not quite similar to the natural one.
This organelle is the most important component of the cell, it synthesizes protein from amino acids, taking as a basis information about the primary structure of proteins (contained in the matrix RNA). This process is called translation among scientists.
The organelle contains two subunits that exist parallel to each other in the cell, but in the case of synthesizing a protein molecule, they join together, and after the synthesis is completed, the subunits separate.
The artificial ribosome was created by a group led by Alexander Mankin, an employee of the College of Pharmacy in Illinois. The main difference of the artificial ribosome is that after the transformation process is completed, the subunits do not separate.
According to the research group, the speed of Ribo-T is about the same as the natural one. Scientists noted that this speed is quite enough to maintain normal growth and cell division in the body (scientists made such conclusions after introducing the artificial ribosome into bacterial cells).
Experts compared the work of ribosomes in our body with the work of a professional chef who creates masterpieces of culinary art from familiar products. Ribosomes also create thousands of different proteins based on information about their structure.
There have been unsuccessful attempts to create a ribosome in the laboratory before. Two years ago, a team of researchers managed to obtain some semblance of a cell organelle, in which the rotaxane molecule was used as a basis, and a ribosome was also created using a certain process, but all of them could not synthesize protein in living cells and worked only in an artificial environment.
Alexander Mankin's research group has succeeded in creating a fully functioning artificial ribosome that can work in natural conditions. According to experts, this will help scientists better understand how the process of protein synthesis occurs, and will also increase the possibilities for drug development.
Scientists explained that natural ribosomes are not capable of synthesizing certain types of proteins (this process is simply not provided by nature), but artificial organelles can be reconfigured to work with any proteins. This work by Mankin's group, according to the scientific community, can radically change the approach to developing pharmacological drugs and will help create drugs with certain characteristics, as well as antibacterial agents that block the work of bacterial cells.