X-Message-Number: 8705 From: Ralph Merkle <> Subject: Re: CryoNet #8703, the lysosome "suicide bag" hypothesis Date: Sun, 2 Nov 1997 19:39:48 PST (Randy) said: > 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 See The molecular repair of the brain, http://www.merkle.com/merkleDir/techFeas.html Lysosomes The theory that lysosomes ("suicide bags") rupture and release digestive enzymes into the cell that result in rapid deterioration of chemical structure appears to be incorrect. More broadly, there is a body of work suggesting that structural deterioration does not take place rapidly. Kalimo et. al.[74] said "It is noteworthy that after 120 min of complete blood deprivation we saw no evidence of membrane lysosomal breakdown, an observation which has also been reported in studies of in vitro lethal cell injury[omitted references], and in regional cerebral ischemia[omitted references]." Hawkins et. al.[75] said "...lysosomes did not rupture for approximately 4 hours and in fact did not release the fluorescent dye until after reaching the postmortem necrotic phase of injury. ... The original suicide bag mechanism of cell damage thus is apparently not operative in the systems studied. Lysosomes appear to be relatively stable organelles...." Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=8705