Lysosomes are the cell´s main compartments for degradation of macromolecules, lipid particles, internalized pathogens, and dysfunctional cellular components, and they also serve as hubs for metabolic signalling. Their dysfunctions are associated with a large number of inherited genetic neurological diseases, whereas their upregulation is required to sustain the increased metabolism typically displayed by cancer cells. There is increasing interest to target lysosomes in cancer therapy, both because cancer cells are addicted to the degradative capacity of lysosomes and because ruptured lysosomes can function as “suicide pills” for cancer cells. Maja Radulovic and her co-workers in Stenmark´s group have opened a new field in lysosome biology by co-discovering that damaged lysosomes can be repaired, and they have identified two molecular mechanisms that cause lysosomal membrane repair. In their review, Radulovic and Stenmark have teamed up with Chonglin Yang, a collaborator in the ChiNoCell programme, to discuss the cellular mechanisms that sustain lysosomal membrane homeostasis, including repair, degradation and biogenesis of new lysosomes. The authors discuss these mechanisms in the context of physiology and pathologies, such as neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41580-025-00873-w
Figure. Characteristics of a lysosome