Question

Lysosomes are also mainly called as
A) Suicide bags
B) Killer bags
C) Secretory vesicles
D) Suicide hormones

Answer 1

Hint: Lysosomes are cell organelles found within eukaryotic animal cells. They have basic functions such as breaking down of cellular wastes and debris.

Complete answer:
Before looking into the options for correct answer, let's have a look at what lysosomes are:

Lysosomes are membrane bound cell organelles which have the function of breaking down cellular wastes and debris in the cells, by engulfing it using hydrolytic enzymes.The area within their membrane is known as lumen. It contains hydrolytic enzymes and cellular debris. The pH level inside the lumen is maintained at 4.5 and 5, making it acidic.

Other than breaking down of cellular wastes, lysosomes are also involved in processes like cell signaling, energy metabolism, restoration of plasma membrane etc. Lysosomes contain over 50 different enzymes. These enzymes are synthesized in the rough endoplasmic reticulum. After synthesizing, these enzymes are brought in from the Golgi apparatus by tiny vesicles and later merge with bigger vesicles.

Now, let's have a look at the options for the correct answer.
Option A: Lysosomes are known as suicidal bags, because sometimes, the digestive enzymes of lysosomes end up damaging lysosomes itself, which results in the death of the cells. This phenomenon is known as autolysis. Hence lysosomes are known as suicidal bags. Therefore, this is the correct option. From this we can also say that the remaining option B, C, D are the incorrect options.

Thus, the correct answer is option (A) Suicide bags.

Note:Certain nuclear genes are responsible for the production of enzymes in lysosomes. Any mutations to these genes results in a condition called lysosomal storage disease. During such a mutation, the molecules get accumulated and eventually kill the cell.