Transport of materials within a cell by vesicles

Vesicle formation

The plasma membrane is very flexible and has the property of self assembly. Also the internal membranes of a eukaryotic cell are also made of phospholipid bilayers.

The phospholipid bilayer can pinch in to form a vesicle and then rejoin itself.

A good example of would be where a membrane of the endoplasmic reticulum forms a vesicle. This vesicle can carry proteins away and deliver them into the golgi apparatus. Inside the golgi apparatus other proteins may be joined together and then sent out into a new vesicle and then sent to the outer plasma membrane and out of the cell.

This could well happen in a hormone producing cell for instance the beta cells in the pancreas. They produce the hormone insulin used in the control of blood sugar.(The details of this are shown on the next page)

Vesicle Transport from Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum to Golgi Apparatus