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Why does the salivary gland have more rough endoplasmic reticulum?

April 26, 2017endoplasmic gland reticulum rough Salivary

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Why does the salivary gland have more rough endoplasmic reticulum?

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Saliva contains many different kinds of proteins. The endoplasmic reticulum functions as a processing center for proteins. mRNA is translated to proteins on either free ribosomes or ribosomes bound to the ER, the polypeptide enters the ER where it is processed and folded correctly. It then exits and is packaged into vesicles by the Golgi apparatus. These vesicles are then released to the outside of the cell via the secretory pathway. Since the salivary gland must secrete more proteins than other cells, it makes sense that it would need more ER.