Lysosome-related organelle

Article By:

Ren, Mindong Department of Cell Biology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York.

Last reviewed:September 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.900888

A member of a diverse group of specialized intracellular membrane-enclosed compartments that exhibit certain characteristics of lysosomes. Lysosomes are major membrane-bound digestive structures involved in intracellular degradation of biological materials in all eukaryotic cells. In particular, lysosomes contain a unique collection of digestive enzymes and membrane proteins, maintain an acidic luminal pH, and receive ingested and newly synthesized materials. Lysosome-related organelles are similar cell membrane–bound subcellular organelles, and they share many of the aforementioned features associated with lysosomes (see illustration). However, lysosome-related organelles also have unique compositions, morphologies, and structures. Although most of these characteristics are shared to a certain extent by all lysosome-related organelles, the organelles also contain cell-type-specific components responsible for their specialized functions. See also: Cell (biology); Cell membrane; Cell organization; Enzyme; Lysosome

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