These organelles are probably the coolest of all the organelles in your body. Yeah, the ribosomes that make the proteins that do everything are important, the nucleus that stores all the DNA is important, the mighty mitochondria that makes energy for the whole cell is important, because they all keep the cell alive...but what about the other part of life? Death. Death is an important part of life that sometimes gets looked over. In fact, death is essential to life (kind of an oxymoron, I know), but it is true, especially on a microscopic level.
What happens when after the cell has a "big dinner" and needs to digest all that "food"? Who does the cell call? Lysosomes. What if something goes wrong in the cell and there is no hope for recovery? Who does the cell call? Lysosomes. What if there is something that needs to be disposed of? Who does the cell call? Lysosomes. What happens when there are some big molecules and compounds and they need to be digested? Who does the cell call? Lysosomes. Who has the power to sacrifice? That's right the lysosomes. So much power in one little organelle...
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/cells/lysosomes/lysosomes.html
The lysosomes are made in the Golgi Apparatus. They have a plasma membrane lipid bilayer and contain a hydrolytic enzyme mixture that is used to break down the molecules that it needs to. ( Credit ) There is an estimated number of how many of these organelles are in an average cell, but the number cannot really be defined because there are so many different types of cells. Even though there are many types of cells, we can "ballpark-it" and say that are dozens of lysosomes in an average cell. ( Credit )
Even though these little organelles can do a lot of good for the human body, but if they aren't working correctly, they can cause a lot of problems called lysosomal storage disorders. Some of these disorders are Acid Maltase Deficiency, Gaucher's Disease, and Tay-Sachs Disease. All of these diseases/disorders are genetic, "where the lack of specific acid enzyme creates a build-up of molecules that would normally be digested by the lysosomes within the cell" ( Credit ). The buildup of those molecules can lead to some very serious problems in organs and the nervous system.
I guess I chose the lysosome over any other organelle is because the lysosomes are still kind of a mystery. I think it's cool that we don't know that much about lysosomes. The only thing we really know about them is that they have some pretty powerful enzymes inside them that can break down pretty much anything. That's another reason why I like them too; they are powerful. They have the power to not destroy, but to sacrifice a cell for the greater good of the organism that they make up. They have the power to save. To me, that is the most amazing thing that a cell can do.
Thanks for reading!
~Em
P.S
Here are my sources that I used in this blog entry!
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/cells/lysosomes/images/lysosomesfigure1.jpg
http://faculty.muhs.edu/klestinski/cellcity/lysosomedata.htm
http://www.biology4kids.com/files/cell_golgi.html
http://www.numberof.net/number%C2%A0of%C2%A0lysosomes%C2%A0in%C2%A0a%C2%A0cell/
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