Compare lysosomal degradation with proteasome pathways

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Detailed Solution

Lysosomes degrade bulk material like organelles and extracellular cargo using hydrolytic enzymes, while proteasomes degrade individual cytosolic proteins tagged with ubiquitin in an ATP-dependent process.

Key differences

Feature	Lysosome pathway	Proteasome pathway
Substrates	Proteins, lipids, nucleic acids, organelles, extracellular material	Mainly cytosolic and nuclear proteins
Tagging	Not required (delivered by endocytosis or autophagy)	Proteins tagged with polyubiquitin chains
Enzymes	Acid hydrolases (cathepsins, lipases, nucleases)	Proteasome core complex with proteolytic sites
Energy requirement	Low; hydrolytic activity depends on acidic pH	ATP required for unfolding and translocation
Size of substrates	Large cargo, entire organelles	Short-lived or misfolded proteins
Cellular processes	Autophagy, endocytosis, apoptosis	Protein quality control, cell cycle regulation

Complementary roles

Proteasomes: Rapid turnover of regulatory proteins (cyclins, transcription factors).
Lysosomes: Bulk recycling of nutrients during starvation and long-term degradation.
Both systems maintain protein homeostasis and respond to stress.

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