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What is the Golgi Apparatus

 


What is the Golgi Apparatus?


As the Golgi , a cellular organelle is known whose function is to handle the proteins synthesized by the endoplasmic reticulum to transform them and export them to the rest of the organism.

Proteins, as they pass through the Go app, undergo a modification process before being released.


The Golgi apparatus is specially developed in cells that have functions related to the secretion of substances, such as cells of the nervous or endocrine system.

As such, the Golgi  is one of the structures that make up the interior of cells, both in animal organisms and in plant organisms. However, its structure is more complex in animal cells.

Golgi  functions

The Golgi  has the function of modifying, storing and exporting proteins synthesized in the endoplasmic reticulum to different parts of the body.

Proteins enter the Golgi and are then transported through a series of cisterns in which enzymes act to modify them.

In this process, the proteins receive a fragment of carbohydrates or lipids, with which glycoproteins, glycolipids and lipoproteins are produced.

Later, the proteins will be packed in membranes to form two types of vesicles:

Secretory vesicles, which carry proteins to the outside of the cell to be released.

Storage vesicles or lysosomes, where proteins remain in the cytoplasm of the cell until they are exported.

In this sense, the functioning of the Golgi is similar to that of a post office, which is responsible for receiving, classifying and distributing correspondence.

Structure of the Golgi 

The Golgi is formed by a series of attached cisterns, which we can classify according to their position and function as follows:

Cis cistern

The cis cistern is the one closest to the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER), from which it receives transition vesicles containing the proteins to be transformed.

Intermediate cisterns

The intermediate cisterns are those that are found in the intermediate zone of the Golgi , between the cis and trans cisterns.

Trans tanker

The trans cistern is one that is directed to the plasma membrane and linked to the smooth endoplasmic reticulum (REL). It is from here that the transport vesicles leave to act in different places in the body.

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