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- system of a cell. The Golgi apparatus
- functions in aiding secretion from the
- cell; the apparatus collects, prepares,
- packages, and finally, releases secretory
- materials to the surface of the cell in
- membrane-encased secretory vesicles.
- In pancreatic cells, for example, the Golgi
- apparatus packages and releases the
- hormone insulin to the blood. After a
- secretory vesicle has ruptured and
- expelled its secretory materials from the
- cell, its membrane often becomes part of
- the cell membrane itself. This transformation
- represents the last stage in the directional flow of
- membrane that exists in cells, whereby the nuclear
- membrane differentiates into rough ER, then into
- smooth ER, then into Golgi apparatus, then into
- secretory vesicles, and ultimately into cell
- membrane. In addition, the Golgi apparatus
- also produces lysosomes, vesicles that contain
-
-