Dictionary:
ly·sis (lī'sĭs)  |
[New Latin, from Latin, a loosening, from Greek lusis, from lūein, to loosen.]
| 5min Related Video: lysis |
| Dental Dictionary: lysis |
The gradual abatement of the symptoms of a disease. The disintegration or dissolution of cells by a lysin.
| Architecture: lysis |
A plinth or step above the cornice of the podium of some Roman temples; when present in a columnar edifice, it constitutes the stylobate proper.
| Sports Science and Medicine: lysis |
1. The breakdown of a cell surface membrane usually by hydrolytic enzymes, which results in the cell releasing its contents.
2. The gradual decline of a disease.
| Veterinary Dictionary: lysis |
1. destruction or decomposition, as of a cell or other substance, under the influence of a specific agent.
2. mobilization of an organ by division of restraining adhesions.
3. gradual abatement of the clinical signs of a disease, e.g. lysis of a fever.
| Wikipedia: Lysis |
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Lysis (Greek λύσις, lysis from lyein = to separate) refers to the death of a cell by breaking of the cellular membrane, causing the contents to spill out, often by viral, enzymic or osmotic mechanisms that compromise its integrity. A fluid containing the contents of lysed cells is called a "lysate".
Many species of bacteria are subject to lysis by the enzyme lysozyme, found in animal saliva, egg white and other secretions.[1] Phage lytic enzymes (lysins) produced during bacteriophage infection are responsible for the ability of these viruses to lyse bacterial cells.[2] Penicillin and related β-lactam antibiotics cause the death of bacteria through enzyme-mediated lysis that occurs after the drug causes the bacterium to form a defective cell wall.[3]
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Cytolysis is the lysis of cells in a hypotonic environment (the surrounding fluid has a lower salt concentration than the cell interior). Cytolysis is caused by excessive osmosis, or movement of water, towards the inside of a cell (hyperhydration). The cell membrane cannot withstand the osmotic pressure of the water inside, and so it explodes. Osmosis occurs from a region of high water potential to a region of low water potential passing through a semipermeable membrane, so these bursting cells are located in hypotonic environments.
Cytolysis can be prevented by several different mechanisms, including the contractile vacuole that exists in some paramecia which rapidly pump water out of the cell.
Cytolysis does not occur under normal conditions in plant cells because plant cells have a strong cell wall that contains the osmotic pressure, or turgor pressure, that would otherwise cause cytolysis to occur.
Plasmolysis is the contraction of cells within plants due to the loss of water through osmosis. In a hypertonic environment, the cell membrane peels off of the cell wall and the vacuole collapses. These cells will eventually wilt and die unless the flow of water caused by osmosis can stop the contraction of the cell membrane.[4]
Cell lysis (splitting of cells) is used to break open cells when it is desirable to avoid shear forces that would denature or degrade sensitive macromolecules, such as proteins and DNA. For example, lysis is used in Western and Southern blotting to analyze the composition of specific proteins, lipids and nucleic acids individually or as complexes. Depending upon the detergent used, either all or some membranes are lysed. For example, if the cell membrane only is lysed then gradient centrifugation can be used to collect certain organelles.
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 | –lyze (suffix) |
| isolysis |
| spirochetolysis |
 | How does complement cause bacterial lysis? |
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| What is the role of TMT in the lysis buffer? |
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 | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Dental Dictionary. Mosby's Dental Dictionary. Copyright © 2004 by Elsevier, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Architecture. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Architecture and Construction. Copyright © 2003 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Sports Science and Medicine. The Oxford Dictionary of Sports Science & Medicine. Copyright © Michael Kent 1998, 2006, 2007. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Lysis". Read more |
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