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Smooth endoplasmic reticulum

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

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Smooth endoplasmic reticulum is a network of short, continuous tubes througout the cytoplasm in which there are no ribosomes on the membrane surfaces. It dyes with acid stains under the light microscope.

It functions to:

  • package material for transport to the Golgi apparatus
  • synthesize lipids and derivatives e.g. in adrenal cells, it contains the enzymes necessary for conversion of cholesterol to steroids
  • detoxify drugs or foreign proteins, particularly in the liver
  • compartmentalise cellular components e.g. the specialised sER of skeletal muscle, termed the sarcoplasmic reticulum, which sequesters calcium

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