MCQs on Lysosomes

Ans. a) Christian de Duve. 

Explanation: Lysosomes were discovered by Belgian cytologist and biochemist Christian de Duve who later also coined the term ‘lysosomes’ for the organelle in the year 1955. This was a huge discovery, leading to Christian de Duve winning a Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1974 for his discovery of two cell organelle, lysosomes and peroxisomes. He won this alongside George Emil Palade and Albert Claude who also won the prize for their achievements.

Ans. b) Lysosomes

Explanation: Lysosomes are “suicidal bags” of the cell because when cells get damaged and are unable to perform certain functions. In such a situation, lysosomes burst which leads to the release of digestive enzymes namely hydrolytic enzymes. This enzyme digests the cell, ultimately leading to the death of the cell and hence, lysosomes are called “suicidal bags” of the cell.

Ans. c) Vacuole

Explanation: Vacuoles are considered the equivalent of lysosomes in plant cells (most plant cells don’t have lysosomes). Vacuoles are membrane-bound organelles found in the cytoplasm. They are often compared to lysosomes in animal cells because of the functions they perform which are storing nutrients and most importantly they also store waste from the cell and hence prevent the cell from damaging. 

Ans. a) Acidic 

Explanation: Lysosomes are acidic because the enzymes present in lysosomes, that is, hydrolytic enzymes, are digestive enzymes that work on disintegrating the unwanted and foreign material present. This enzyme is acidic, which means that it can stay active only when the pH level is low (that is, acidic level). 

Ans. c) Protein Synthesis

Explanation: The functions of Lysosomes are digestion of various materials, autolysis refers to the process which disintegrates the cell from the enzymes produced within the cell, autophagy is the process of self-digestion by a cell often as self-preservation or protective measure. Protein synthesis refers to the process of creating protein molecules and is the function of ribosomes.

Ans. c) They help remove unwanted or foreign materials for the cell

Explanation: Lysosomes are called the “garbage trucks” of the cell because they help in removing unwanted and foreign material such as bacteria. This process is undertaken with the help of digestive enzymes which help disintegrate unwanted material from the cell. Due to this same reason lysosomes are called the waste disposal system of the cell. 

Ans. a) Phosphate esters

Explanation: Phosphate esters and nucleases are the biochemicals that are part of the components of lysosomes. Molecules with phosphate are an essential part of all living cells. Phosphate esters and nucleases in cells contain nucleic acids and phosphoproteins and are considered an important part of biochemistry. Nucleases and Phosphatases are part of the various hydrolytic enzymes present in lysosomes.

Ans. d) 40 

Explanation: Lysosomes have around 40 types of different hydrolytic enzymes present in them so of them are proteases, nucleases, lipases, sulfatases, phosphatases. These hydrolytic enzymes help in breaking down larger molecules into smaller ones. They also operate at lower pH levels, which means they are acidic and hence due to this lysosome’s pH nature is also acidic. 

Ans. d) Sialic Acid

Explanation: Lysosomal membranes are rich in Sialic Acid. Sialic Acid is present in its highest concentration in the brain in the human body. Sialic Acid is also considered important because it helps with immunity in the body and so it is an important part of immunity in the human body as well. 

Ans. c) White Blood cells

Explanation: While lysosomes are found in most animal cells white blood cells contain the most amount of lysosomes, the reason for this is because white blood cells fight diseases they consume the most amount of material, more than any other cell. Due to this, lysosomes become important as they help protect the cells from all the material that enters. 

Ans. a) Single membrane

Explanation: Lysosomes are single membrane cell organelle, they are spherical-shaped sacs structures. They are also called the “garbage bags” cell because they help in disintegrating and removing unwanted and foreign materials and hence are a crucial cell organelle. It is acidic because the hydrolytic enzymes help disintegrate and break down larger molecules into smaller ones, these are acidic enzymes due to which lysosomes are also acidic. 

Ans. b) Gomori Stain 

Explanation: Gomori stain is a staining technique that is mostly used to stain muscle tissues. It is used for locating lysosomes. It is named after George Gomori who was a Hungarian-American physicist and was developed in 1950.