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Vol. 15, Issue 2, 447-455, February 2004

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The Endoplasmic Reticulum Membrane Is Permeable to Small Molecules

Department of Cell Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute/Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115-6091

Submitted May 22, 2003; Revised September 5, 2003; Accepted October 1, 2003
Monitoring Editor: Reid Gilmore

The lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) differs from the cytosol in its content of ions and other small molecules, but it is unclear whether the ER membrane is as impermeable as other membranes in the cell. Here, we have tested the permeability of the ER membrane to small, nonphysiological molecules. We report that isolated ER vesicles allow different chemical modification reagents to pass from the outside into the lumen with little hindrance. In permeabilized cells, the ER membrane allows the passage of a small, charged modification reagent that is unable to cross the plasma membrane or the lysosomal and trans-Golgi membranes. A larger polar reagent of 5 kDa is unable to pass through the ER membrane. Permeation of the small molecules is passive because it occurs at low temperature in the absence of energy. These data indicate that the ER membrane is significantly more leaky than other cellular membranes, a property that may be required for protein folding and other functions of the ER.

^* Corresponding author. E-mail address: tom_rapoport{at}hms.harvard.edu.

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