LECTURE 7: Endomembrane systems and

protein trafficking

By the end of this lecture you should be able to:

• Identify the components of the endomembrane

The Endomembrane System system

• Describe the formation of transport vesicles and their

role in protein trafficking

• Elucidate endocytosis and exocytosis

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Concept 7.4: The endomembrane system The Endoplasmic Reticulum: Biosynthetic

regulates protein traffic and performs metabolic Factory
functions • The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) accounts for
• The endomembrane system consists of more than half of the total membrane in many
– Nuclear envelope eukaryotic cells
– Endoplasmic reticulum • The ER membrane is continuous with the nuclear
– Golgi apparatus envelope
– Lysosomes • There are two distinct regions of ER:
– Vacuoles – Smooth ER, which lacks ribosomes
– Plasma membrane – Rough ER, whose surface is studded with
• These components are either continuous or ribosomes
connected via transfer by vesicles

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Figure 7.11
Functions of Rough ER
• The rough ER
– Has bound ribosomes, which secrete glycoproteins
(proteins covalently bonded to carbohydrates)
– Distributes transport vesicles, secretory proteins
surrounded by membranes
– Is a protein and membrane factory for the cell

Functions of Smooth ER
• The smooth ER
– Synthesizes lipids
– Detoxifies drugs and poisons
– Stores calcium ions
– Metabolizes carbohydrates
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Figure 7.12
The Golgi Apparatus: Shipping and Receiving
Center
• The Golgi apparatus consists of flattened
membranous sacs called cisternae
• The Golgi apparatus
– Modifies products of the ER (mostly sugars)
– Manufactures certain
macromolecules (polysaccharides)
– Sorts and packages materials into transport vesicles

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 Fig. 6-16-1
The Endomembrane System: A Review The Endomembrane System: A Review
Nucleus Nucleus

Rough ER Rough ER

Smooth ER Smooth ER
cis Golgi

Plasma lysosome Plasma

membrane membrane
trans Golgi
9 10
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Fig. 6-16-3
The Endomembrane System: A Review Transport vesicles
Nucleus
At Plasma membrane: exocytosis and endocytosis
(bulk transportation)
Rough ER
Two main pathways (inside > outside)
– ER > Golgi Apparatus > Plasma membrane
Smooth ER
– ER > Golgi Apparatus > lysosomes
cis Golgi

One pathway (outside > inside)

Plasma membrane > endosomes > lysosomes

Plasma
lysosome membrane
trans Golgi
11 12
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 Transmembrane / integral proteins
Protein synthesis/trafficking 1) In ER: Carbohydrates are added to proteins
ER
1
= glycoprotein
• ERà Golgi Apparatus à Plasma Membrane Transmembrane
glycoproteins

• ERà Golgi Apparatus à Lysosomes Secretory

protein

• Mediated by transport vesicles 2) Golgi apparatus: glycoproteins undergo Glycolipid

further carbohydrate modification & lipids
acquire carbohydrates becoming glycolipids Golgi 2
apparatus

Vesicle

3) Glycolipids, glycoproteins and secretory

proteins are transported in vesicles to PM 3
Plasma membrane:
4
Cytoplasmic face
Transmembrane
glycoprotein Extracellular
4) Fusion, exocytosis and carbohydrate face
portions of tran-membrane proteins are
Secreted
positioned to the outside protein
Membrane glycolipid

13 14
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Vacuoles: Diverse Maintenance Compartments

• Vacuoles are large vesicles derived from the ER
and Golgi apparatus
• Vacuoles perform a variety of functions in different
The Endomembrane System
kinds of cells

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcxc8Gv7NiU

Protein Trafficking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvfvRgk0MfA

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 Figure 8.20
Exocytosis
• In exocytosis, transport vesicles migrate to the
membrane, fuse with it, and release their contents
outside the cell
• Many secretory cells use exocytosis to export
their products
– For example, cells in the pancreas secrete insulin by
exocytosis

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Endocytosis
• In endocytosis, macromolecules are taken into the • There are three types of endocytosis
cell in vesicles – Phagocytosis (“cellular eating”)
• The membrane forms a pocket that deepens and – Pinocytosis (“cellular drinking”)
pinches off forming a vesicle around the material – Receptor-mediated endocytosis
for transport

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Figure 8.21

• In phagocytosis, a cell engulfs a particle by

extending pseudopodia around it and packing it in a
membranous sac called a food vacuole
• such as WBCs engulfing bacteria
• The vacuole fuses with a lysosome to digest the
particle

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Figure 8.21a

• In pinocytosis, molecules are taken up when

extracellular fluid is “gulped” into tiny vesicles
• Pinocytosis is nonspecific for the substances it
transports; any and all solutes are taken into the
cell
• Parts of the plasma membrane that form vesicles
are lined on the inner side with coat proteins,
forming coated vesicles

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Figure 8.21b

• In receptor-mediated endocytosis, binding of

ligands to receptors triggers vesicle formation
• A ligand is any molecule that binds specifically to
a receptor site of another molecule

26
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Which part of the cell is most crucial for getting

membrane proteins to their proper location?
• Human cells use receptor-mediated endocytosis to
take in cholesterol, which is carried in particles
called low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) a) plasma membrane
• Individuals with familial hypercholesterolemia have b) mitochondrion
missing or defective LDL receptor proteins c) chloroplast
• Cholesterol accumulates in the blood, building up d) Golgi apparatus
lipids and narrowing the space in the blood vessels, e) lysosome
resulting in potential heart damage or stroke

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Which part of the cell is most crucial for getting
membrane proteins to their proper location?

a) plasma membrane
b) mitochondrion
c) chloroplast
d) Golgi apparatus
e) lysosome

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