lysosome: Quick Facts

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Formation of lysosomes

3D illustration of cellular autophagy showing a lysosome fusing with an autophagosome filled with various microbes and molecules, against a black background.

Cutaway illustration of a eukaryotic animal cell showing labeled internal structures, including the nucleus, nucleolus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus, and other organelles.

Detailed diagram showing the transport of lipoproteins in the human body, illustrating how dietary fats and cholesterol are absorbed in the small intestine, packaged into chylomicrons, and transported through lymphatic vessels and the bloodstream. The diagram traces the conversion of chylomicrons to VLDL, IDL, LDL, and HDL particles, highlighting their roles in fat and cholesterol delivery, storage, and recycling, with labeled pathways to the liver, muscle, and adipose tissue, and includes cellu

Side-by-side labeled diagrams of a typical animal cell and a plant cell, showing internal structures such as nucleus, mitochondrion, endoplasmic reticulum, and unique features like chloroplasts and cell wall in the plant cell.

Diagram showing receptor-mediated endocytosis in a cell: a ligand binds to a receptor on the cell membrane, forming a coated pit that becomes a coated vesicle. The vesicle fuses with an endosome, where receptors are recycled and the contents are degraded in a lysosome.

The video thumbnail image shows an illustration of an animal cell next to a photo of a whale swimming in the oean.

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Topics

Gaucher disease metachromatic leukodystrophy autophagy acid hydrolase lysosomal disorder Tay-Sachs disease Niemann-Pick disease Hurler’s syndrome Fabry’s disease Pompe’s disease Golgi apparatus mitochondrion Nitroplast endoplasmic reticulum peroxisome hydrogenosome ribosome nucleus cytoskeleton vacuole

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cell: The lysosome

Key People

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Christian René de Duve

Belgian biochemist

Mechanism of cellular autophagy, illustration for Nobel Prize Award in Medicine 2016. 3D illustration showing fusion of lysosome with autophagosome containing microbes and molecules.

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