1. C–D. Micrographs of a dorsal root ganglion cell (C) and a motor neuron (D) show the organelles in the cell body that are chiefly responsible for synthesis and processing of proteins. The mRNA enters the cytoplasm through the nuclear envelope and is translated into proteins. Free polysomes, strings of ribosomes attached to a single mRNA, generate cytosolic proteins and proteins to be imported into mitochondria (Mit) and peroxisomes. Proteins destined for the endoplasmic reticulum are formed after the polysomes attach to the membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The particular region of the motor neuron shown here also includes membranes of the Golgi apparatus (G), in which membrane and secretory proteins are further processed. Some of the newly synthesized proteins leave the Golgi apparatus in vesicles that move down the axon to synapses; other membrane proteins are incorporated into lysosomes (Ly) and other membranous organelles. The microtubules (M) and neurofilaments (Nf) are components of the cytoskeleton.
Source: The Cells of the Nervous System, Principles of Neural Science, Fifth Editon
Citation: Kandel ER, Schwartz JH, Jessell TM, Siegelbaum SA, Hudspeth AJ, Mack S. Principles of Neural Science, Fifth Editon; 2012 Available at: Accessed: December 25, 2017
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