Endoplasmic Reticulum

endoplasmic reticulum (ER), in biology, a continuous membrane system that forms a series of flattened sacs within the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells and serves multiple functions, being important particularly in the synthesis, folding, modification, and transport of proteins . All eukaryotic cells contain an endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In animal cells, the ER usually constitutes more than half of the membranous content of the cell. Differences in certain physical and functional characteristics distinguish the two types of ER, known as rough ER and smooth ER.

endoplasmic reticulum; organelle

Rough ER is named for its rough appearance, which is due to the ribosomes attached to its outer (cytoplasmic) surface. Rough ER lies immediately adjacent to the cell nucleus, and its membrane is continuous with the outer membrane of the nuclear envelope. The ribosomes on rough ER specialize in the synthesis of proteins that possess a signal sequence that directs them specifically to the ER for processing. (A number of other proteins in a cell, including those destined for the nucleus and mitochondria, are targeted for synthesis on free ribosomes, or those not attached to the ER membrane; see the article ribosome.) Proteins synthesized by the rough ER have specific final destinations. Some proteins, for example, remain within the ER, whereas others are sent to the Golgi apparatus, which lies next to the ER. Proteins secreted from the Golgi apparatus are directed to lysosomes or to the cell membrane; still others are destined for secretion to the cell exterior. Proteins targeted for transport to the Golgi apparatus are transferred from ribosomes on rough ER into the rough ER lumen, which serves as the site of protein folding, modification, and assembly.

endoplasmic reticulum; mitochondria

The proximity of the rough ER to the cell nucleus gives the ER unique control over protein processing. The rough ER is able to rapidly send signals to the nucleus when problems in protein synthesis and folding occur and thereby influences the overall rate of protein translation. When misfolded or unfolded proteins accumulate in the ER lumen, a signaling mechanism known as the unfolded protein response (UPR) is activated. The response is adaptive, such that UPR activation triggers reductions in protein synthesis and enhancements in ER protein-folding capacity and ER-associated protein degradation. If the adaptive response fails, cells are directed to undergo apoptosis (programmed cell death).

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Smooth ER, by contrast, is not associated with ribosomes, and its functions differ. The smooth ER is involved in the synthesis of lipids, including cholesterol and phospholipids, which are used in the production of new cellular membrane. In certain cell types, smooth ER plays an important role in the synthesis of steroid hormones from cholesterol. In cells of the liver, it contributes to the detoxification of drugs and harmful chemicals. The sarcoplasmic reticulum is a specialized type of smooth ER that regulates the calcium ion concentration in the cytoplasm of striated muscle cells.

The highly convoluted and labyrinthine structure of the ER led to its description in 1945 as a “lace-like reticulum” by cell biologists Keith Porter, Albert Claude, and Ernest Fullman, who produced the first electron micrograph of a cell. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, Porter and colleagues Helen P. Thompson and Frances Kallman introduced the term endoplasmic reticulum to describe the organelle. Porter later worked with Romanian-born American cell biologist George E. Palade to elucidate key characteristics of the ER.