X-Message-Number: 8703
Date: Sat, 01 Nov 1997 14:55:46 +0000 (GMT)
From:  (Randy)
Subject: Lysosomes, Autolysis & Brain Cell "Suicide"
Newsgroups: sci.cryonics,sci.med

Been doing some basic biology reading (_Instant Biology_  by
Rensberger), and here's a morbid little passage from that book (for a
seemingly moribund forum):

"Lysosome -- the Cell's Stomach...filled with powerful digestive
enzymes.. send the broken-down food out to be used elsewhere in the
cell [and here's the interesting part].... Lysosomes are sometimes
called "suicide bags" because the enzymes they contain could digest
the whole cell if they got out, which they do when the body is
severely deprived of oxygen. During suffocation or drowning, cells
become more acidic inside, which makes lysosome membranesbreak down
and release their caustic jiuces. Brain cells are the first to undergo
this reaction, often destroying themselves in four or five minutes
after breathing stops."

I believe this process is known as autolysis.
Randy   
Cryonics: Gateway to the Future?
http://members.wbs.net/homepages/c/r/y/cryofan1.html             
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