| lysosome | <cell biology> Membrane bounded cytoplasmic organelle containing a variety of hydrolytic enzymes that can be released into a phagosome or to the exterior. Release of lysosomal enzymes in a dead cell leads to autolysis (and is the reason for hanging game, to tenderise the muscle), but it is misleading to refer to lysosomes as suicide bags, since this is certainly not their normal function. Part of the GERL complex or trans Golgi network. Origin: Gr. Soma = body (18 Nov 1997) |
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| lysosome associated membrane glycoprotein | <protein> Lysosome specific integral membrane glycoproteins. Long luminal domain, short transmembrane domain, very short cytoplasmic tail. Function not yet clear. (18 Nov 1997) |
| lysosome phagosome fusion | <cell biology> A process that occurs after the internalisation of a primary phagosome. Fusion of the membranes leads to the release of lysosomal enzymes into the phagosome. Some species of intracellular parasite evade immune responses by interfering with this process. (18 Nov 1997) |
| lysosomes | A class of morphologically heterogeneous cytoplasmic particles in animal and plant tissues characterised by their content of hydrolytic enzymes and the structure-linked latency of these enzymes. The intracellular functions of lysosomes depend on their lytic potential. The single unit membrane of the lysosome acts as a barrier between the enzymes enclosed in the lysosome and the external substrate. The activity of the enzymes contained in lysosomes is limited or nil unless the vesicle in which they are enclosed is ruptured. Such rupture is supposed to be under metabolic (hormonal) control. (12 Dec 1998) |
| primary lysosome | <cell biology> A lysosome before it has fused with a vesicle or vacuole. Origin: Gr. Soma = body (18 Nov 1997) |
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| secondary lysosome | <cell biology> Term used to describe intracellular vacuoles formed by the fusion of lysosomes with organelles (autosomes) or with primary phagosomes. Residual bodies are the remnants of secondary lysosomes containing indigestible material. Origin: Gr. Soma = body (18 Nov 1997) |