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THE CYTOMEMBRANE SYSTEM
The cytomembrane system is a series of organelles in
which lipids are assembledand new polypeptide chains
are modified into final proteins. Its products are sorted
and shipped to different destinations. Figure 4.13shows
how its organelles-the ER, Golgi bodies, and various
vesicles-functionally interconnect with one another.
Endop lasrnic Reticul urn
The functions of the cytomembrane system begin with
endoplasmic reticulum, or ER. In animal cells, the ER
is continuous with the nuclear envelope and extends
through cytoplasm. Its membrane regions appearrough
or smooth, depending mainly on whether ribosomes
are attached to the membrane facing the cytoplasm.
.1
We typically observerough ER arranged into stacks
of flattened sacswith many ribosomesattached). Every
new polypeptide chain is synthesized on ribosomes.
But only the newly forming chains having a built-in
signal can enter the space within rough ER or become I
incorporated into ER membranes. (The signal is a
string of fifteen to twenty specific amino acids.) Once
the chains are in rough ER, enzymes may attach
oligosaccharides and other side chains to them. Many
specialized cells secrete the final proteins. Rough ER is
abundant in such cells. For example, in your pancreas,
ER-rich gland cells make and secreteenzymes that end
up in the small inte~tine and help digest your meals.
SmoothER is free of ribosomes and curves through
cytoplasm like connecting pipes. Many cells assemble
most lipids inside the pipes. Smooth ER
is well developed in seeds. In liver
--cells, some drugs and toxic meta-
bolic wastes are inactivated in it.
Sarcoplasmic reticulum, a type of
, smooth ER in skeletal muscle cells,
I functions in muscle contraction.
Golgi Bodies
In Goigi bodies, enzymes put the
finishing touches on proteins and
lipids, sort them out, and package
them inside vesicles for shipment to
specific locations. For example, an
enzyme in one Golgi region might
attach a phosphate group to a new
protein, thereby giving it a mailing
tag to its proper destination.
Commonly, a Golgi body looks
vaguely like a stack of pancakes; it
is composed of a series of flattened
membrane-boundsacs(Figure 4.14).
In functional terms, the last portion
of a Golgi body corresponds to the
top pancake. Here, vesicles form as
patches of the membrane bulge out,
then break away into the cytoplasm.
Figure 4.13 Cytomembrane system, a
membrane system in the cytoplasm that
assembles, modifies, packages, and
ships proteins and lipids. Green arrows
highlight a secretory pathway by which
certain proteins and lipids are packaged
and released from many types of cells,
including gland cells that secrete mucus,
sweat, and digestive enzymes. ~
 A Variety of Vesicles
Vesicles are tiny, membranous sacs that move through
ROUGH ER the cytoplasm or take up positions in it. A common type,
the lysosome, buds from Golgi membranes of animal
SMOOTH ER cells and certain fungal cells. Lysosomes are organelles
of intracellular digestion. They contain a potent brew,
GOLGlBODY
rich with diverse enzymes that speed the breakdown of
proteins, complex carbohydrates, nucleic acids, and some
lipids. Often, lysosomes fuse with vesicles that formed
at the plasma membrane. The vesicles typically contain
molecules, bacteria, or other items that docked at the
plasma membrane. Lysosomes even digest whole cells
or cell parts. For example, as a tadpole is developing
into an adult frog, its tail slowly disappears. Lysosomal
enzymes are responding to developmental signals and
are helping to destroy cells that make up the tail.
Peroxisomes, another type, are tiny sacs of enzymes
that break down fatty acids and amino acids. Hydrogen
peroxide, a potentially harmful product, forms during
the reactions. Enzyme ~ction converts it to water and
oxygen or channels it into reactions that break down
alcohol. After someone drinks alcohol, nearly half of it
is degraded in peroxisornes of liver and kidney cells.

Many proteins take on final fonn and lipids are synthesized

Figure 4.14 Sketch and micrograph of a
Golgi body from an animal cell.
in the ER and Golgi bodies of the cytomembrane system.
Lipids, proteins (such as enzymes), and other items become
packaged in vesicles destined for export, storage, membrane
building, intracellular digestion, and other cell activities.

Text material adaptedfrom C. Starr and R. Taggart,Biology: The

!Oks/Cole,2001),pp. 64-65.

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