July 17th, 2026
You might recall that last year researchers demonstrated an age-related decline in peroxisome number in cells. Peroxisomes carry out a range of functions related to oxidative and lipid metabolism, but are relatively poorly researched in the context of aging. The decline in number of peroxisomes modestly accelerates the pace of aging, as researchers found that forcing a normalization of the number of peroxisomes via prx-11 inhibition extended life in nematode worms. Here, the same researchers provide an update on how they think that this all works under the hood, providing evidence for peroxisome counts to affect life span via mitochondrial function.
Peroxisomes execute essential functions in cells, including detoxification and lipid oxidation. Despite their centrality to cell biology, the relevance of peroxisomes to aging remains understudied. We recently reported that peroxisomes are degraded en masse via pexophagy during early aging in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, and we found that downregulating the peroxisome-fission protein PRX-11/PEX11 prevents this age-dependent pexophagy and extends lifespan. Here, we further investigated how prx-11 inhibition promotes longevity.
