lyses

Lyses is the plural form of lysis, the process of breaking down a cell, tissue, or structure by disruption of its membrane or wall, leading to rupture and the release of intracellular contents. The term is used across biology to describe diverse disruption events in cells and subcellular compartments.

Common forms include osmotic lysis, which occurs when cells are exposed to hypotonic environments causing water influx and membrane rupture; chemical lysis, which uses detergents, alcohols, or chaotropic agents to solubilize membranes and proteins; enzymatic lysis, in which enzymes such as lysozyme or phage endolysins cleave cell wall polymers to enable rupture; and mechanical lysis, which relies on physical forces such as shear, grinding, sonication, or high-pressure disruption. Thermal lysis, by heating, can also disrupt membranes and proteins.

In microbiology and virology, lysis is a key stage in the life cycle of many bacteriophages. Lytic phages replicate within a bacterial host and eventually cause lysis via holins and endolysins, releasing progeny virions. This lytic pathway is contrasted with lysogeny, in which the phage genome persists without immediate host cell rupture.

In medical and laboratory contexts, lysis refers to processes that destroy cells to release contents for analysis or extraction, such as DNA, RNA, or proteins. Complement-mediated lysis describes immune mechanisms that rupture target cells, including red blood cells, through membrane attack complexes. Therapeutically, engineered lysins are explored as targeted antibacterial agents.

Lyses outcomes depend on cell type, membrane composition, and the method used, and they feature across cell biology, microbiology, and biotechnology.