What is the role of Lysosome?

Lysosomes are cell organelles found only in animal cells and were discovered by the Belgian cytologist Christian de Duve in 1949. Lysosomes are filled with digestive enzymes capable of breaking the organic material.

Lysosomes attach to the foreign materials entering the cell and destroy them with the help of digestive enzymes. Similarly, lysosomes also act on old or damaged cells. They keep the cells clean by digesting and breaking the outside materials like bacteria, food entering the cell, or worn-out cell organelles into small pieces.

As lysosomes help in removing the cell debris, they are also known as the suicidal bags of a cell, or cellular housekeepers, or scavengers, or demolition squads.