Chief Cells
Chief Cells

Chief Cells

This slide shows a cross section through the base of a gastric gland. Chief cells are responsible for secreting pepsinogen. They have basally located nuclei and a basophilic cytoplasm with abundant rough endoplasmic reticulum and many secretory granules that contain pepsinogen. These are secreted into the lumen of the gastric gland. Why would you expect the RER to be so extensive in a chief cell?
Answer: Chief cells have to translate a lot of pepsinogen.