Cell Organelles: Endomembrane System (Nursing)

00:01 The next important structure in our cells is the ribosomes.

00:06 And the ribosomes are important because this is where we synthesize all of our proteins.

00:12 So the process of translation occurs at the ribosomes.

00:18 The ribosomes is actually made up of two subunits of ribosomal RNA with some proteins also mixed in together.

00:26 And together those two units thread through mRNA on one side and out on the other side, you get proteins.

00:35 So switching gears, the endoplasmic reticulum is first of several organelles that we will discuss today.

00:43 The endoplasmic reticulum is going to be located just off of the nucleus and extend into the cytoplasm of the cell.

00:52 There are two different types of endoplasmic reticulum.

00:55 The rough endoplasmic reticulum also known as the rough ER and the smooth endoplasmic reticulum also known as the smooth ER.

01:04 These two both have very different functions where the rough endoplasmic reticulum is gonna be responsible for modifying proteins that are being translated on their surface.

01:18 whereas the smooth ER is responsible for the production of different lipids as well as steroid hormones.

01:25 The smooth ER is also important for detoxification which is why liver cells have an extensive network of Smooth ER.

01:39 Extending from the ER, the next major organelle is going to be the golgi complex or the golgi apparatus.

01:48 the golgi apparatus is actually directional where the part of the Golgi that is closest to the nucleus is referred to as the cis-golgi and the part that is further away from the nucleus is referred to as the trans-golgi.

02:05 Transport vesicles containing proteins leaving the ER are transported to the cis side of the golgi where they are further processed in the cell.

02:17 I like to think of the golgi as kind of like a 'FedEx' in our cell and the reason why is beacuse a lot of sorting and packaging occurs in this organelle.

02:27 Specifically things come in, they are modified or tagged with a certain zip code and then told where to go next.

02:37 If something is destined to be secreted from the cell, it will always go through the golgi first and then from there, be taken to the plasma membrane.

02:48 And they can also be taken to other parts of the cell and other organelles as well.

02:55 So all these together, give us our endomembrane system.

03:00 The endomembrance system starts with the nucleus which we will discuss shortly, and after that goes to the ER followed by the golgi and then to the plasma membrane.

03:12 And so something that is synthesized at the ER can eventually be secreted out of the cell through this transport system involving these membrane-bound organelles and the transport vesicles between them.

03:30 So other organelles that are part of the endomembrane system but are not necessarily in that pathway toward the outside of the cell, are things like lysosomes.

03:41 So lysosomes are derived from the golgi apparatus but these contain digestive enzymes and it's is actually very similar to our stomach.

03:51 And what this does is it breaks down large particles and molecules into smaller things that can then be used by the cell.

03:59 So in a way, the lysosome is like the stomach of our cells.