The term lysis generally denotes resolution, which can refer to a variety of circumstances. Even within medicine, this term has different meanings. For example, in medicine, lysis is short for thrombolysis, which is a drug therapy used to dissolve thrombus in heart attacks or pulmonary embolisms.
What is lysis?
Lysis is, among other things, the dissolution of dead cells or the dissolution of blood clots in thrombosis. Lysis is a Greek term meaning dissolution or solution. Many chemical and biological processes are associated with the term lysis. Even within medicine, this term has different meanings. In addition to the dissolution of dead cells or the dissolution of blood clots in the case of thrombosis, lysis is also a term for the gradual subsiding of a disease. For thrombolysis of blood clots in heart attacks, strokes or pulmonary embolisms, the term lysis is used as a short form of therapy. The resolution of pathological anxiety, for example, is referred to as anxiolysis. In contrast, hemolysis denotes both physiological and pathological dissolution of red blood cells. In chemistry, the syllable ‘lysis’ characterizes dissolutions of certain compounds by acting agents. Thus, in the so-called ozonolysis, carbon-carbon double bonds are destroyed by the action of ozone. In hydrolysis, water molecules and, in electrolysis, electric current break down certain chemical compounds.
Function and task
In biology and medicine, lysis plays a major role. For example, it has a great importance in necrosis or apoptosis of body cells. In both cases, body cells die. While necrosis is caused by pathological processes, apoptosis is a deliberate suicide program of cells to make room for new cells. During the subsequent lysis, the cell components are completely dissolved by enzymes. This process is vital because it protects the body from poisoning and infection. Another lysis process is triggered by the T cells of the immune system. The T lymphocytes ensure that infected cells or tumor cells are dissolved. Since degenerated cells are constantly being created or cells are constantly being infected with viruses or parasites, the lysis triggered by T lymphocytes is always taking place. Organs and tissues are also constantly undergoing remodeling. Old cells are constantly dying off, while new cells are being formed. In some organs these processes are very intensive, in others less intensive. The bone and skeletal system, for example, is in a state of constant remodeling. Due to the stress on the bones, permanent structural defects occur, which are constantly corrected by the breakdown of the bones (osteolysis) and rebuilding. Blood cells are also renewed within 120 days. The breakdown of red blood cells is called hemolysis. To ensure the renewal of blood, physiological hemolysis takes place continuously. Thrombolysis is the process of dissolving blood clots with drugs to prevent or treat heart attacks, strokes or embolisms. In biological research, the breaking up of cells by ultrasound or by chemical processes to allow their proteins or DNA to be studied is also called lysis.
Diseases and ailments
When somatic cells are infected with viruses, destruction of the cell occurs after a few replication cycles in which new viruses are produced, without subsequent dissolution of the cell’s components. This allows the viruses to spread further in the body. In this case, the lack of a lysis process leads to the spread of infection. Only the targeted destruction and dissolution of the infected cells by T lymphocytes, which are increasingly formed during the course of the infection, stops the further spread of the viruses and initiates the healing process. However, when the balance between the breakdown and rebuilding of body cells is disturbed, pathological processes occur. Osteolysis and hemolysis, for example, are usually normal processes that provide for the renewal of the skeletal system or blood. However, if the degradation processes predominate, serious diseases may result. Increased osteolysis leads, among other things, to osteoporosis (bone resorption) or osteomalacia (mineral deficiency in bone). The result is high bone fragility.Increased breakdown of blood cells is referred to as increased hemolysis and leads to anemia. Bilirubin is formed as a degradation product of hemoglobin. Bilirubin is yellowish and causes the typical symptoms of jaundice. While in physiological hemolysis the red blood cells are degraded after 120 days, the life span of the red blood cells is reduced in increased hemolysis. Therefore, the severity of anemia depends on the lifespan of red blood cells. Causes of increased hemolysis may include vascular changes, prosthetic heart valves, genetic blood disorders (e.g., sickle cell anemia), infections (e.g., malaria), immunological disorders, toxins (including those caused by streptococci), or blood cancers. All other organs are also affected by physiological cell breakdown and disintegration. Thus, the breakdown and degradation processes are normally in balance with each other. However, if the degradation processes predominate, the organ in question becomes diseased. With increasing age, the formation of new cells slows down without the degradation processes being delayed. As a result, gradual degradation of body cells and their dissolution take place. Lysis also includes the digestive process. The so-called digestive enzymes of the pancreas are responsible for digestion. If the digestive juices are activated before they are released from the pancreas, or if their release is impaired, complete self-dissolution (digestion) of the pancreas may occur in the setting of acute pancreatitis.
