How are lysosomes programmed for cell death?
1 Answer
Jun 8, 2018
Lysosomes contain many enzymes capable of degrading most of a cell's machinery called proteases. Their normal function in a healthy cell is to degrade extracellular macromolecules, other cells, or parts of the cell that are being recycled.
When a gene is expressed to regulate the lysis of a lysosome membrane (or through other mechanisms), the proteases are released on the cell, effectively promoting apoptosis.
