Acid hydrolases, in lysosomes

The degradation of proteins by acid hydrolases in lysosomes involves vesicle fusion through three main pathwaysautophagy, endocytosis, and phagocytosis. The low pH inside lysosomes is maintained by an ATP driven proton pump. 

The anatomic sites (subcellularly) and the details of the enzymatic processes involved in the hydrolysis of chylomicron cholesteryl esters newly taken up by the liver have not been fully defined. It is clear that one of the major processes consists of receptor-mediated endocytosis of chylomicron remnants, followed by hydrolysis of cholesteryl esters and other remnant components within lysosomes. In rare genetic diseases characterized by lysosomal acid lipase deficiency (Wol-man s disease and cholesteryl ester storage disease), cholesteryl esters accumulate in liver cells and in other tissues as well [see Assmann and Frederickson (1983) for review and references]. An acid cholesteryl ester hydrolase from rat liver lysosomes has been partially purified and characterized (Brown and Sgoutas, 1980 Van Berkel etal., 1980). Enzymatic activity was found in preparations of both parenchymal and nonparenchymal liver cells (Van Berkel et al., 1980). Hydrolysis of chylomicron cholesteryl esters taken up by isolated rat hepatocytes was inhibited by chloroquine (Florin and Nilsson, 1977), an agent which inhibits the action of acid hydrolases in lysosomes. Finally, there is also evidence that the rate of cholesteryl ester hydrolysis may be limited by the rate at which internalized remnant particles are moved to the presumably lysosomal site of hydrolysis (Nilsson, 1977 Florin and Nilsson, 1977 Cooper and Yu, 1978). 

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