Adrenoleukodystrophy, Zellweger Syndrome, Refsum's Disease explained
Cell Biology A elaboration on the structure and function of peroxisomes, highlighting how their unique organization supports their essential roles in metabolism, detoxification, and cellular homeostasis. Peroxisomes are small, single-membrane–bound organelles found in eukaryotic cells that play essential roles in cellular metabolism and protection. They are best known for carrying out oxidation reactions, including the breakdown of fatty acids through beta-oxidation and the detoxification of harmful substances, particularly hydrogen peroxide, which is rapidly converted into water and oxygen by the enzyme catalase. Peroxisomal functions vary by cell type and organism, contributing to lipid synthesis and bile acid production in animals, photorespiration and fat-to-sugar conversion in plants, and close metabolic coordination with mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum. Lacking their own DNA and ribosomes, peroxisomes import all necessary proteins from the cytoplasm and repli...