Organelles,
Size, Function
Driving Question: What Determines the Size of the ER and Golgi Apparatus Within a Cell? Does Size Correlate With Function?
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This is my main internship project with Dr. Bingyun Sun. In this project, I was tasked with answering the stated prompt by written article and plenty of research.
RESEARCH
Background Research on ER and Golgi
These notes include the morphology, function, and metabolic processes of the ER and Golgi. I also asked questions and drew implications from the research which led to my hypothesis.
Right: This EM image depicts the Golgi apparatus within the cytoplasm. Its main function is to receive, modify, package, and transport proteins/lipids to their target locations via vesicles.
Source: medyaleuniversity
Left: This EM image depicts the smooth ER in orange and the rough ER in blue. They are functionally and morphologically different.
Source: medyaleuniversity
Hypothesis: The Size of the ER and Golgi Depends On Cellular Function. Specifically, Secretory Cells Will Have Proportionally Larger ERs and Golgis Due To Their Role In Secretion.
Right: Red blood cells don't exhibit any ER or Golgi because they don't synthesize any secretory products.
Source: anatomynote
Left: This EM image shows abundant rough ER (pale exterior) surrounding the nucleus (black center). Within this cell, higher functional demand resulted in rER proliferation
Source: loyolauniversity
![RBC [source- anatomynote].PNG](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/39df98_03ca622474dd413387c66d9270467a72~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_270,h_224,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/RBC%20%5Bsource-%20anatomynote%5D_PNG.png)
Notes on the ER and Golgi Within Specific Cells
These notes include information on the function and size of the ER in different cell types.
Additional cell images used in research
WRITING / PRESENTATIONS
This writeup utilizes the information I learned from my background research to outline the structure and functions of the ER and Golgi Apparatus as well as drawing implications about its size in relation to cellular function.
(Hover for overview)
Endoplasmic reticulum: Two structures- rER mainly serves to synthesize proteins and sER synthesizes lipids along with detoxification and calcium ion regulation.
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Golgi apparatus: Receives, modifies, packages, and transports proteins and lipids received from the ER.
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Since both ER and Golgi are key players in the secretory pathway, I hypothesized that they would be larger in secretory cells.
Week 1 PPT presentation of internship learning to Dr. Bing. This slide deck goes over the background information described in my first piece of writing.
This is my first complete draft out of four. This writeup covers the vast majority of my learning including information from my first writeup and research regarding the ER and Golgi within certain cell types.
Change of writing style- comparing the introduction
Final Writeup
Revised and edited from V1
(Hover for overview)
Covers basic background info. Since the ER and Golgi are both key players within the secretory pathway, they are larger within secretory cells. Higher secretory demand results in organelle proliferation, and vice versa. For example, plasma cells, which secrete lots of antibodies in response to antigens, often exhibit larger rER and Golgi. However, large ER and Golgi size does not always denote higher secretory function. For example, pathological conditions may result in cell problems such as apoptosis which can make the ER or Golgi bloat, but not as a sign of higher secretory function. This makes it important to determine the health of a cell before using ER or Golgi size to make any conclusions.
Final Presentation
Covers the info in my final writeup.
(please click on the PPT for proper viewing)