Lysosomes

Abstract

LYSOSOMES are a heterogeneous group of cytoplasmic organelles that mediate the digestive and lytic processes of the cell. Yet despite their ubiquitous distribution and their visibility, after appropriate fixation and staining, by light microscopy, it was not until 1955 that de Duve and his associates¹ postulated "the lysosome" as the result of biochemical studies of cell fractionation. Since then, these bodies have been identified in most vertebrate cells, such as the liver,² spleen,³ kidney,⁴ brain,⁵ gut,⁶ thyroid gland,⁷ leukocytes,⁸ macrophages,⁹ pancreas,¹⁰ prostate,¹¹ ovary,¹² uterus,¹² muscle,¹³ heart,¹⁴ synovium,¹⁵ skin,¹⁶ spinal ganglions¹⁷ and bladder.¹⁸ They have also been found in invertebrates¹⁹ and . . .