Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
lysis
References
Images
Pathways of complement activation
Quizzes
Encyclopaedia Britannica thistle graphic to be used with a Mendel/Consumer quiz in place of a photograph.
44 Questions from Britannica’s Most Popular Health and Medicine Quizzes
Britannica AI Icon

lysis

biological process
Written by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Last updated

Quick Summary

Pathways of complement activation
Pathways of complement activation The main function of complement proteins is to aid in the destruction of pathogens by piercing their outer membranes (cell lysis) or by making them more attractive to phagocytic cells such as macrophages (a process known as opsonization). Some complement components also promote inflammation by stimulating cells to release histamine and by attracting phagocytic cells to the site of infection.

The term "lysis" refers to the breakdown or destruction of cells or other substances. In biology, it can describe the process where a cell undergoes lysis, meaning it breaks apart. This can occur naturally, such as in the breakdown of old red blood cells to recycle iron.12

Enzymes play a crucial role in lysis. For instance, proteolysis is the breakdown of proteins into smaller peptides or amino acids by proteolytic enzymes. Another class of enzymes, lyases, catalyze the addition or removal of specific chemical groups at double bonds.34

A specific type of lysis is hemolysis, which is the destruction of red blood cells, releasing hemoglobin into the surrounding fluid. Lysosomes are organelles within eukaryotic cells that contain hydrolytic enzymes to break down various materials, protecting the rest of the cell. The prefix "lys-" or "lyso-" is often used in biological terms related to this breakdown process.256

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
6 Britannica Sources
  1. lyse
  2. proteolysis
  3. lyase
  4. cell - The lysosome
  5. hemolysis
  6. lys-

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.