Gaucher disease is the most common of lipid storage diseases in humans. It is caused by a deficiency of an enzyme necessary for lipid metabolism. This leads to a collection of fatty material in organs of the body including the spleen, liver, kidneys, lungs, brain, and bone marrow. Using your knowledge of the structure of eukaryotic cells, identify the statement below that best explains how internal membranes and the organelles of cells would be involved in Gaucher disease. Gaucher disease is the most common of lipid storage diseases in humans. It is caused by a deficiency of an enzyme necessary for lipid metabolism. This leads to a collection of fatty material in organs of the body including the spleen, liver, kidneys, lungs, brain, and bone marrow. Using your knowledge of the structure of eukaryotic cells, identify the statement below that best explains how internal membranes and the organelles of cells would be involved in Gaucher disease. The lysosomes lack sufficient amounts of enzymes necessary for the metabolism of lipids. The rough endoplasmic reticulum contains too many ribosomes which results in an overproduction of the enzyme involved in carbohydrate catalysis. The Golgi apparatus produces vesicles with faulty membranes that leak their contents into the cytoplasm of the cell. The mitochondria are most likely defective and do not produce adequate amounts of ATP needed for cellular respiration.

Lysosomes are a membrane-bound organelles with acidic interior that enables the function of hydrolytic enzymes. So, the main role of lysosomes is degradation of macromolecules (such as lipids). Low pH (about 5) is suitable for the action of enzymes involved in hydrolysis (hydrolases) and there are about 50 of them inside the lysosome. Beside macromolecules, lysosomes degrade organelles, but also can digest themselves via autophagy (e.g. when cell is under stress).

Lysosomes are also involved in plasma membrane repair, defend against pathogens (macrophages), cell signaling, metabolism etc.