Lysosome
A lysosome is a cell organelle.[1] They are like spheres and they have hydrolytic enzymes which can break down almost all kinds of biomolecules, including proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, lipids, and cellular debris. They contain more than 50 different enzymes.
By convention, lysosome is the term used for animal celis.[2] In plant cells, vacuoles do similar functions. With a wider definition, lysosomes are found in the cytoplasm of plant and protists as well as animal cell.
Lysosomes work like the digestive system to break down, or digest, proteins, acids, carbohydrates, dead organelles, and other unwanted materials.[3] They break up larger molecules into smaller molecules. Those smaller molecules can then be used again as building blocks for other large molecules.[3]Sometimes, when the cell itself is dying or is dead the lysosomes will eat up the cell. This is why they are also known as 'suicide bags' of cells.
Lysosome Media
- Christian de Duve.tif
Christian de Duve, age 95, presenting his ideas on the origin of the eukaryotic cell (October 2012)
- The Biological bulletin (19756543133).jpg
TEM views of various vesicular compartments. Lysosomes are denoted by "Ly". They are dyed dark due to their acidity; in the center of the top image, a Golgi Apparatus can be seen, distal from the cell membrane relative to the lysosome.
- Lysosomes as catabolic centers of the cell.jpg
Cellular material is delivered to lysosomes in four different ways; (A) Macroautophagy, (B) Endosomal degradation, (C) Microautophagy and (D) Chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA).
- Phagocytosis.svg
Process of phagocytosis: 1. A particle is ingested by a phagocyte after antigens are recognized which results in the formation of a phagosome. 2. The fusion of lysosomes with the phagosome creates a phagolysosome. The particle is broken down by the digestive enzymes found in the lysosomes.
References
- ↑ De Duve C. 2005. The lysosome turns fifty. Nature Cell Biology 7 (9): 847–9. [1]
- ↑ Lysosome. Yale University. [2] Archived 2015-10-30 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fullick, Ann (2008). Edexcel AS Biology Students' Book. pp. 142-143. ISBN 978-1-4058-9632-0.