What is a smooth endoplasmic reticulum?
If you think about the name smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum, probably you will ask yourself if there is such a thing as rough endoplasmic reticulum, right? Actually, the answer is – YES! In fact, when we say endoplasmic reticulum, there are three major categories. First one is the rough endoplasmic reticulua which is responsible to synthesize proteins, smooth endoplasmic reticulua which is responsible in the synthesizing and metabolizing of lipids, carbohydrates and steroids as well as maintaining or regulating calcium concentration. And the last, which is Sarcoplasmic Reticulua which focuses on regulating the levels of calcium in our body.
This article will focus more on the smooth endoplasmic reticulum. It will enumerate some of the vital roles and other information that is needed to know to understand a smooth endoplasmic reticulum as a whole.
The smooth endoplasmic reticulum is found on both plant and animal. The network of tubules it forms serves as a home for enzymes and enzyme products. It receives the proteins that were synthesized in the rough endoplasmic reticulum. The synthesized proteins are transferred to the Golgi complex and all of the resident proteins are returned to the rough Endoplasmic Reticulum and the lysosomal proteins are directed to the lysosomes. The Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum takes a great role in detoxification too. It detoxifies lipid soluble drugs and other harmful drugs during metabolism. This makes the smooth endoplasmic reticulum a transporter of nutrients in the body.
The most important role of a smooth endoplasmic reticulum is to synthesize phospholipids and cholesterol in your body.
The common names of the smooth endoplasmic reticulum are the following:
• Smooth ER
• Tubular endoplasmic reticulum
• Agranular endoplasmic reticulum
You can find the Smooth endoplasmic reticulum in the cytoplasm. It looks like an interconnected and branch like tubules which is almost like thread fibers. The smooth endoplasmic reticulum does not have ribosome as well. It measures 150nm in diameter per tubule.