MRPL28 (mitochondrial ribosomal protein L28) is a structural component of the mitochondrial large ribosomal subunit that functions in mitochondrial protein translation. The protein binds RNA and serves as a structural constituent of the mitochondrial ribosome, facilitating the synthesis of mitochondrially-encoded proteins essential for oxidative phosphorylation 1. MRPL28 plays a critical regulatory role in mitochondrial metabolism and tumor biology. Knockdown of MRPL28 in pancreatic tumor cells decreases mitochondrial activity while compensatorily increasing glycolysis, paradoxically accelerating tumor growth in vivo—an effect consistent with the Warburg effect 1. This suggests MRPL28 acts as a metabolic checkpoint linking mitochondrial translation capacity to cellular energy production strategies. MRPL28 has emerging disease relevance in complex disorders. DNA methylation alterations of MRPL28 have been identified in infants exposed to maternal asthma during pregnancy, potentially contributing to increased asthma risk 2. Additionally, MRPL28 methylation differences associate with the interaction between social anxiety disorder and early life adversity 3, suggesting epigenetic modifications of this gene may influence psychiatric phenotypes. MRPL28 has also been identified as a candidate gene in dietary obesity quantitative trait loci, highlighting its potential role in metabolic disease susceptibility 4.