Surio, Arvie G.

2009 10315

June 27, 2013 Essay #2 Lysosomes as Therapeutic Solution to Cancer

Lysosomes, as we all know, well mostly biologists, scientists, students and former students who still remembers the term, is just one of the tiny-little parts of each of our cell. Its work was primarily to digest food, break down any foreign material, or maybe digest the cell itself. However, did it ever get to your mind that this tiny vesicle can actually cause the production and growth of cancer cells, which, in turn, could also be the main focus to destroy these cells? My article today will, at least, give small bits of ideas to discuss and justify this recent turn in the study of cancer. Lysosomes are just small vesicle which carries digestive enzymes, floating around the cytoplasm region of our cell. Primarily, its role was to digest food or foreign materials to absorb nutrients. Lysosomes were truly produced through series of steps starting when enzyme proteins were produced in the rough endoplasmic reticulum; by default, rough ER packages these proteins and transmitted it to the golgi apparatus; the GA produces the digestive enzymes and generates a vesicle which will act as carriage of the enzyme. This carriage is called Lysosomes. Lysosomes have very important role in the prolong life of the cell. The digestive enzymes that they hold have the capacity to kill their host cell if not kept in a membrane. With lysosome as its carrier, the enzymes were only released after the attachment of lysosomes to the material that the cell absorbs. Only then will these enzymes break down materials for the absorption of nutrients. However,

in the absence of materials to digest, lysosome still manages to supply the cell with its needed nutrients by digesting the cell organelles of the cell itself. But in any case, lysosomes are responsible in the recycling of these organelles after numerous hydrolyses. (Lysosome. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu) (Lysosomes,

peroxisomes, secretory vesicles. http://www.cellsalive.com) (Lysosomes-Little Enzyme Packages. http://www.biology4kids.com) One of the best studied hydrolases of Lysosome was cathepsins. Cathepsins were divided into 3 subgroups: cysteine, aspartate, and serine. Regardless of the idea that they have a vital contribution in protein turnover and other development on epidermal functions and cell cycle, Cathepsins is now seen to have a very significant role in the total maturity of tumor cells. In recent studies, the thorough development of cancer cells is said to be caused by the altered lysosomal functions. Commonly, the contents of lysosomes are kept inside its membrane, but, the alteration in its functions may cause damages on its perinuclear and peripheral areas, resulting to the release of its contents to the extracellular space of the cell. These released cathepsins continually contribute in the neoplastic progression, thus, allowing more cathepsins to be released. Cathepsins, on the other hand, have this special feature of having the association with binding partners on tumor cells, becoming a direct proof in the growth, migration and total invasion of these cells. Nevertheless, the secretion of cathepsins in the extracellular space also has interesting functions. Cathepsins B, L, & D, the same cathepsin type that favors the development of tumor cells, also have the ability to trigger death of cathepsins through lysosomal cell death pathway. With numerous variety of death stimuli, a partial lysosomal permeabilization can be induced and released cathepsins

directly to the cytosol. Immortallization is seen to be another factor that contributes in this process. Immortalization can cause development on lysosomal compartments and with digestive enzymes still present; the death pathway of lysosomes can actually increase the death sensitivity of cancer cells. More argues materialize in the in depth study of this theory most especially in suppressing apoptosis and lysosomal death pathway. Transforming or developing lysosomes, in such a way that might be a negative, could give a great shift in totally killing cancer cells. The findings of the study see multiple advantages that we may acquire in the application of the process. Suppressing the apoptosis and lysosomal death pathways can actually increase the activity of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase. This unique characteristic of cancer can stabilize tumor cell lysosomes and other more things which are likely to sensitize tumor cells to cancer drugs through lysosomal membrane permeabilization. But nevertheless, the study is still young. More things will emrge, and grreter leads will make the study more comprehensive. Definitely, more ways will be discovered that will make all points clearer and will make an established position of cathepsins in the development and treatment of cancer. Now that tumor cells possess more reasons and more specific characteristics associated with lysosomes, thus, more reasons to prove lysosome membrane permeability effective in cancer treatment. (Lysosomes as Targets for Cancer Therapy. http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org)