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A lysosome (/ ˈ l aɪ s ə ˌ s oʊ m /) is a single membrane-bound organelle found in many animal cells. [1] [2] They are spherical vesicles that contain hydrolytic enzymes that digest many kinds of biomolecules. A lysosome has a specific composition, of both its membrane proteins and its lumenal proteins.
The enzymes inside of lysosomes are acid hydrolases which require an acidic environment for optimal performance. Lysosomes provide such an environment by maintaining a pH of 5.0 inside of the organelle. [37] If a lysosome were to rupture, the enzymes released would not be very active because of the cytosol's neutral pH.
Other compartments such as peroxisomes, lysosomes, the endoplasmic reticulum, the cell nucleus or the Golgi apparatus are not of endosymbiotic origin. Smaller elements like vesicles , and sometimes even microtubules can also be counted as compartments.
These food vacuoles fuse with lysosomes which break down the components so that they can be used in the cell. This form of cellular eating is called phagocytosis. Lysosomes are also used to destroy defective or damaged organelles in a process called autophagy. They fuse with the membrane of the damaged organelle, digesting it.
They are acidic (approx. pH 5.5), and are part of the trafficking pathway of mannose-6-phosphate receptors. Late endosomes are thought to mediate a final set of sorting events prior the delivery of material to lysosomes. Lysosomes are the last compartment of the endocytic pathway. Their chief function is to break down cellular waste products ...
The cell nucleus (from Latin nucleus or nuculeus 'kernel, seed'; pl.: nuclei) is a membrane-bound organelle found in eukaryotic cells.Eukaryotic cells usually have a single nucleus, but a few cell types, such as mammalian red blood cells, have no nuclei, and a few others including osteoclasts have many.
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Vesicle fusion is the merging of a vesicle with other vesicles or a part of a cell membrane. In the latter case, it is the end stage of secretion from secretory vesicles, where their contents are expelled from the cell through exocytosis. Vesicles can also fuse with other target cell compartments, such as a lysosome.