Editing Endomembrane system (section)

==== Functions of the rough ER ====
Many types of cells export proteins produced by ribosomes attached to the rough ER. The ribosomes assemble [[amino acids]] into protein units, which are carried into the rough ER for further adjustments. These proteins may be either [[transmembrane proteins]], which become embedded in the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum, or water-soluble proteins, which are able to pass through the membrane into the lumen. Those that reach the inside of the endoplasmic reticulum are folded into the correct three-dimensional conformation. Chemicals, such as carbohydrates or sugars, are added, then the endoplasmic reticulum either transports the completed proteins, called secretory proteins, to areas of the cell where they are needed, or they are sent to the Golgi apparatus for further processing and modification.<ref name=Cooper3 /><ref name=Alberts3 />

Once secretory proteins are formed, the ER membrane separates them from the proteins that will remain in the cytosol. Secretory proteins depart from the ER enfolded in the membranes of vesicles that bud like bubbles from the transitional ER. These vesicles in transit to another part of the cell are called [[Vesicular transport protein|transport vesicles]].<ref name=Cooper3 /><ref name=Alberts3 /> An alternative mechanism for transport of lipids and proteins out of the ER are through lipid transfer proteins at regions called [[membrane contact site]]s where the ER becomes closely and stably associated with the membranes of other organelles, such as the plasma membrane, Golgi or lysosomes.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Levine T, Loewen C | title = Inter-organelle membrane contact sites: through a glass, darkly | journal = Current Opinion in Cell Biology | volume = 18 | issue = 4 | pages = 371–8 | date = August 2006 | pmid = 16806880 | doi = 10.1016/j.ceb.2006.06.011 }}</ref>

In addition to making secretory proteins, the rough ER makes membranes that grows in place from the addition of proteins and phospholipids. As [[polypeptides]] intended to be membrane proteins grow from the ribosomes, they are inserted into the ER membrane itself and are kept there by their [[hydrophobic]] portions. The rough ER also produces its own membrane phospholipids; enzymes built into the ER membrane assemble phospholipids. The ER membrane expands and can be transferred by transport vesicles to other components of the endomembrane system.<ref name=Cooper3 /><ref name=Alberts3 />