Endoplasmic reticulum

the endoplasmic reticulum is made out of a lipid membrane, just like the cell membrane around the outside of a cell, or like vacuoles, or like the membrane around the nucleus of a cell. History Probably it evolved about two billion years ago out of the cell membrane around the nucleus of the cell, just like vacuoles evolved from the cell membrane around the outside of the cell. All eukaryote cells have some endoplasmic reticulum, or the remnants of one they used to have. The word "endoplasmic" just means that it is floating in the cytoplasm of the cell. "Reticulum" is the Latin word for a little net. So the endoplasmic reticulum is a little net that floats in a cell's cytoplasm.

The endoplasmic reticulum, in fact, is still connected to the nuclear membrane that wraps around a cell's DNA. So there is a direct connection between the cell's nucleus and the endoplasmic reticulum. The lipid of the endoplasmic reticulum makes a maze of little tubes or tunnels.

Endoplasmic reticulum
An organelle consisting of a network of membranes within the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells that is important in protein synthesis and folding and is involved in the transport of cellular materials. The endoplasmic reticulum can be continuous in places with the membrane of the cell nucleus. Or A membrane network within the cytoplasm of cells involved in the synthesis, modification, and transport of cellular materials

The endoplasmic reticulum, or ER, is an organelle inside cells. It is found in both plant and animal cells and is a very important manufacturing site for fat and proteins. There are two types of endoplasmic reticulum -- smooth endoplasmic reticulum and rough endoplasmic reticulum. The two types of ER are separate entities and are not joined together.

Structure
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Structurally, the endoplasmic reticulum is an extensive membrane network of cisternae, or sac-like structures. The ER membrane forms a continuous sheet enclosing an internal space called the ER lumen. The narrow ER lumen is continuous with the lumen of the nuclear membrane -- the double-layered membrane surrounding the nucleus of the cell, so that the ER system appears as an outgrowth of the nuclear membrane. The membrane of the ER on its external surface can carry granular structures known as ribosomes. The ER regions carrying ribosomes are known as rough endoplasmic reticulum, and those devoid of ribosomes are known as smooth endoplasmic reticulum.

1 Nucleus 2 Nuclear pore 3 Rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) 4 Smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) 5 Ribosome on the rough ER 6 Proteins that are transported 7 Transport vesicle 8 Golgi apparatus 9 Cis face of the Golgi apparatus 10 Trans face of the Golgi apparatus 11 Cisternae of the Golgi apparatus
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Chemical Composition
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Endoplasmic reticulum has a high lipid content. There is more lipid relative to proteins in the smooth endoplasmic reticulum than in the rough endoplasmic reticulum. The latter also contains less cholesterol and sphingomyelin, a type of lipid found in animal cell membranes.

Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum

The rough endoplasmic reticulum is a series of connected flattened sacs that have many ribosomes on their outer surface. Rough endoplasmic reticulum synthesizes and secretes serum proteins (such as albumin) in the liver, and hormones (such as insulin) and other substances (such as milk) in the glands.

What is the Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum Function? The reason rough endoplasmic reticulum is called 'rough' are the ribosomes. The ribosomes cover the surface of rough endoplasmic reticulum and make it appear bumpy under microscopic magnification. Ribosomes are the sites where proteins are created from amino acids. The information for the synthesis of a particular protein is conveyed from the DNA to the ribosome by the messenger RNA (mRNA) mechanism. This information is read by the ribosomes and accordingly proteins are created with the exact amino acid sequence with the help of transfer RNA (tRNA). Rough endoplasmic reticulum is connected with the outer envelope of the cell nucleus. The following are the main functions of rough endoplasmic reticulum:

The prime rough endoplasmic reticulum function is the production and processing of specific proteins at ribosomal sites that are later exported. The ribosomes in the rough endoplasmic reticulum do their job and create proteins which are then sent in to the rough endoplasmic reticulum for advanced processing. As I said before, rough endoplasmic reticulum function involves, creation of two types of proteins. One is the type which fortifies and gets embedded into the reticulum membrane. The other types are water soluble membranes which after creation at ribosomal sites, pass through the membrane and into the lumen. The function of rough endoplasmic reticulum doesn't end there. The proteins that enter are further processed inside. Just like a two dimensional cardboard box is folded to make a box, the proteins are folded into the right three dimensional shapes and carbohydrates may be added. Once the folding is complete, they are ready for delivery. The folding is made possible by chaperone proteins present in the lumen. The next rough endoplasmic reticulum function is to transport these ready proteins to the sites where the are required. They may also be sent to the Golgi bodies for further advanced processing, through vesicles.

Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum

Smooth endoplasmic reticulum
Smooth endoplasmic reticulum is found in a variety of cell types and it serves different functions in each. It consists of tubules and vesicles that branch forming a network. In some cells there are dilated areas like the sacs of rough endoplasmic reticulum. The network of smooth endoplasmic reticulum allows increased surface area for the action or storage of key enzymes and the products of these enzymes. In the case of smooth endoplasmic reticulum in muscle cells, the vesicles and tubules serve as a store of calcium which is released as one step in the contraction process. Calcium pumps serve to move the calcium.

In adrenal cortical cells (as well as steroid producing cells in the gonads), the smooth endoplasmic reticulum serves to metabolize the steroids and produced the final steroid hormone. After the side chain of cholesterol is cleaved in the mitochondria, the product is passed to the smooth endoplasmic reticulum and further modified. Then, it is passed back to mitochondria for final modifications. Thus, the two organelles play a sort of "steroid volleyball" to produce the steroid hormone. The smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) has functions in several metabolic processes, including synthesis of lipids and steroids, metabolism of carbohydrates, regulation of calcium concentration, drug detoxification, attachment of receptors on cell membrane proteins, and steroid metabolism.[7] It is connected to the nuclear envelope. Smooth endoplasmic reticulum is found in a variety of cell types (both animal and plant) and it serves different functions in each. The Smooth ER also contains the enzyme glucose-6phosphatase which converts glucose-6-phosphate to glucose, a step in gluconeogenesis. The SER consists of tubules and vesicles that branch forming a network. In some cells there are dilated areas like the sacs of RER. The network of SER allows increased surface area for the action or storage of key enzymes and the products of these enzymes.

Sarcoplasmic reticulum
The sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), from the Greek sarx, ("flesh"), is a special type of smooth ER found in smooth and striated muscle. The only structural difference between this organelle and the SER is the medley of proteins they have, both bound to their membranes and drifting within the confines of their lumens. This fundamental difference is indicative of their functions: the SER synthesizes molecules while the SR stores and pumps calcium ions. The SR contains large stores of calcium, which it sequesters and then releases when the muscle cell is stimulated.[8] The SR's release of calcium upon electrical stimulation of the cell plays a major role in excitation-contraction coupling.

The functions of smooth endoplasmic reticulum vary in different cell types. More commonly, it is engaged in the synthesis of lipids and steroids. Smooth ER also serves as a storage space for enzymes that detoxify lipid-soluble drugs and other harmful compounds. Smooth endoplasmic reticulum is also involved in the storage of calcium in muscle cells. At the time of need, such as during muscle contraction, this stored calcium is released into the cytosol -- the liquid inside the muscle cells.

Functions The endoplasmic reticulum serves many general functions, including the facilitation of protein folding and the transport of synthesized proteins in sacs called cisternae.

Correct folding of newly-made proteins is made possible by several endoplasmic reticulum chaperone proteins, including protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), ERp29, the Hsp70 family member Grp78, calnexin, calreticulin, and the peptidylpropyl isomerase family. Only properly-folded proteins are transported from the rough ER to the Golgi complex.

Transport of proteins
Secretory proteins, mostly glycoproteins, are moved across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane. Proteins that are transported by the endoplasmic reticulum and from there throughout the cell are marked with an address tag called a signal sequence. The Nterminus (one end) of a polypeptide chain (i.e., a protein) contains a few amino acids that work as an address tag, which are removed when the polypeptide reaches its destination. Proteins that are destined for places outside the endoplasmic reticulum are packed into transport vesicles and moved along the cytoskeleton toward their destination. The endoplasmic reticulum is also part of a protein sorting pathway. It is, in essence, the transportation system of the eukaryotic cell. The majority of endoplasmic reticulum resident proteins are retained in the endoplasmic reticulum through a retention motif. This motif is composed of four amino acids at the end of the protein sequence. The most common retention sequence is KDEL (lys-asp-glu-leu). However, variation on KDEL does occur and other sequences can also give rise to endoplasmic reticulum retention. It is not known if such variation can lead to sub-endoplasmic reticulum localizations. There are three KDEL receptors in mammalian cells, and they have a very high degree of sequence identity. The functional differences between these receptors remain to be established.
The endoplasmic reticulum manufactures, processes, and transports a wide variety of biochemical compounds for use inside and outside of the cell. Consequently, many of the proteins found in the cisternal space of the endoplasmic reticulum lumen are there only transiently as they pass on their way to other locations. Other proteins, however, are targeted to constantly remain in the lumen and are known as endoplasmic reticulum resident proteins. These special proteins, which are necessary for the endoplasmic reticulum to carry out its normal functions, contain a specialized retention signal consisting of a specific sequence of amino acids that enables them to be retained by the organelle. An example of an important endoplasmic reticulum resident protein is the chaperone protein known as BiP (formally: the chaperone immunoglobulin-binding protein), which identifies other proteins that have been improperly built or processed and keeps them from being sent to their final destinations.

Other functions

Insertion of proteins into the endoplasmic reticulum membrane: Integral membrane proteins are inserted into the endoplasmic reticulum membrane as they are being synthesized (co-translational translocation). Insertion into the endoplasmic reticulum membrane requires the correct topogenic signal sequences in the protein. Glycosylation: Glycosylation involves the attachment of oligosaccharides.

Disulfide bond formation and rearrangement: Disulfide bonds stabilize the tertiary and quaternary structure of many proteins. Drug metabolism: The smooth ER is the site at which some drugs are modified by microsomal enzymes which include the cytochrome P450 enzymes

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