The limiting membranes of late endosomes and lysosomes can fuse to form a hybrid organelle where degradation of endocytosed macromolecules commences. Lysosomes are reformed from the hybrid organelle by membrane retrieval and condensation reactions. Autophagic and phagocytic pathways both feed into the endocytic pathway with the lumenal contents of the autophagosome and phagosome eventually being delivered to the lysosome for degradation.
