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1 Structure and function of red blood cells

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In Vitro and In Vivo Hemolysis
This chapter is in the book In Vitro and In Vivo Hemolysis
1 Structure and function of red blood cellsRed blood cells(RBCs, also referred to aserythrocytes), are the most common type ofblood cell and the vertebrate organism’s principal means of delivering oxygen to thebody’s tissues via the flow of blood through the circulatory system. The main functionofRBCsis to capture oxygen in the lungs and, as the RBCs squeeze through even thetiniest blood vessels, to release it as required to the peripheral tissues. The main com-ponent of an RBC ishemoglobin, an iron-containing biomolecule that can bind oxygenand is responsible for the blood’s red color. In humans, mature RBCs are flexible bicon-cave disks that lack a cell nucleus and most organelles. These cells originate from thebone marrow and are characterized by a life span of some 90 to 120 days before theyundergo degradation by a process of phagocytosis in the reticuloendothelial systemof the spleen, liver, and bone marrow. The processes of production and degradationtypically occur at the same rate, thereby providing a balance in the total number ofcirculating RBCs or consistency in the RBC count [1,2].The process leading to the development of RBCs is termederythropoiesisand lastsnearly 7 days. By it, erythrocytes are continuously produced in the red bone marrowof large bones at the staggering rate of about 2 million per second in a healthy adult.The process is regulated in two ways by the hormone erythropoietin (EPO), whichcan act both to stimulate production of the cells from their cell precursors (stemcells) in the bone marrow and to prevent apoptosis of immature RBCs (reticulocytes)by a process commonly referred to as neocytolysis. In adults, the reticulocytes makeup nearly 1% of circulating RBCs [1,2].The size of RBCs varies widely among vertebrate species. The erythrocyte’s width is,on average, about 25% greater than the diameter of a capillary, and it has been hy-pothesized that this feature improves the transfer of oxygen from erythrocytes to tissues.A typical human RBC has a diameter of 6 to 8μm and is about 2μm thick. The cellsconsequently have a volume of about 90 fL with a surface area of about 136μm2and can swell up to a spherical shape containing 150 fL without membrane distention(uFig. 1.1).Mammalian erythrocytes lack a cell nucleus and are typically shaped in the form of abiconcave disk, being flattened and depressed in the center, with a dumbbell-shapedcross section and a torus-shaped rim on the edge of the disk. The only vertebrates with-out RBCs are the crocodile icefishes (familyChannichthyidae), which live in very oxygen-rich cold water and thereby transport oxygen freely dissolved within their blood. Theoriginal biconcave shape of erythrocytes is thought to optimize the rheological proper-ties of blood in the large vessels, such as maximization of laminar flow and minimiza-tion of platelet scatter (uFig. 1.1). In adult life, humans have nearly 2 to 3×1013RBCs,constituting approximately one quarter of the total number of human body cells. The num-ber of erythrocytes is therefore much higher than that of other blood cells (from 4.2 to6.2×1012/L in males and from 3.8 to 5.5×1012/L in females, versus 4.0 to 11.0×109/L white blood cells and 150,000 to 400,000 109/L platelets).

1 Structure and function of red blood cellsRed blood cells(RBCs, also referred to aserythrocytes), are the most common type ofblood cell and the vertebrate organism’s principal means of delivering oxygen to thebody’s tissues via the flow of blood through the circulatory system. The main functionofRBCsis to capture oxygen in the lungs and, as the RBCs squeeze through even thetiniest blood vessels, to release it as required to the peripheral tissues. The main com-ponent of an RBC ishemoglobin, an iron-containing biomolecule that can bind oxygenand is responsible for the blood’s red color. In humans, mature RBCs are flexible bicon-cave disks that lack a cell nucleus and most organelles. These cells originate from thebone marrow and are characterized by a life span of some 90 to 120 days before theyundergo degradation by a process of phagocytosis in the reticuloendothelial systemof the spleen, liver, and bone marrow. The processes of production and degradationtypically occur at the same rate, thereby providing a balance in the total number ofcirculating RBCs or consistency in the RBC count [1,2].The process leading to the development of RBCs is termederythropoiesisand lastsnearly 7 days. By it, erythrocytes are continuously produced in the red bone marrowof large bones at the staggering rate of about 2 million per second in a healthy adult.The process is regulated in two ways by the hormone erythropoietin (EPO), whichcan act both to stimulate production of the cells from their cell precursors (stemcells) in the bone marrow and to prevent apoptosis of immature RBCs (reticulocytes)by a process commonly referred to as neocytolysis. In adults, the reticulocytes makeup nearly 1% of circulating RBCs [1,2].The size of RBCs varies widely among vertebrate species. The erythrocyte’s width is,on average, about 25% greater than the diameter of a capillary, and it has been hy-pothesized that this feature improves the transfer of oxygen from erythrocytes to tissues.A typical human RBC has a diameter of 6 to 8μm and is about 2μm thick. The cellsconsequently have a volume of about 90 fL with a surface area of about 136μm2and can swell up to a spherical shape containing 150 fL without membrane distention(uFig. 1.1).Mammalian erythrocytes lack a cell nucleus and are typically shaped in the form of abiconcave disk, being flattened and depressed in the center, with a dumbbell-shapedcross section and a torus-shaped rim on the edge of the disk. The only vertebrates with-out RBCs are the crocodile icefishes (familyChannichthyidae), which live in very oxygen-rich cold water and thereby transport oxygen freely dissolved within their blood. Theoriginal biconcave shape of erythrocytes is thought to optimize the rheological proper-ties of blood in the large vessels, such as maximization of laminar flow and minimiza-tion of platelet scatter (uFig. 1.1). In adult life, humans have nearly 2 to 3×1013RBCs,constituting approximately one quarter of the total number of human body cells. The num-ber of erythrocytes is therefore much higher than that of other blood cells (from 4.2 to6.2×1012/L in males and from 3.8 to 5.5×1012/L in females, versus 4.0 to 11.0×109/L white blood cells and 150,000 to 400,000 109/L platelets).

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Preface vii
  4. 1 Structure and function of red blood cells 1
  5. 2 Red blood cell parameters 3
  6. 3 Definition of hemolysis 7
  7. 4 Prevalence of hemolyzed specimens in clinical laboratories 9
  8. 5 In vivo hemolysis 15
  9. 6 In vitro hemolysis 21
  10. 7 How to distinguish in vivo versus in vitro hemolysis 35
  11. 8 Effects of in vitro hemolysis on laboratory testing 39
  12. 9 Spurious hemolysis and veterinary medicine 55
  13. 10 Detection of hemolyzed specimens 57
  14. 11 Management of hemolyzed specimens 63
  15. 12 The challenge of synthetic blood substitutes 81
  16. References 89
  17. Index 101
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110246148.1

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. Preface vii
  4. 1 Structure and function of red blood cells 1
  5. 2 Red blood cell parameters 3
  6. 3 Definition of hemolysis 7
  7. 4 Prevalence of hemolyzed specimens in clinical laboratories 9
  8. 5 In vivo hemolysis 15
  9. 6 In vitro hemolysis 21
  10. 7 How to distinguish in vivo versus in vitro hemolysis 35
  11. 8 Effects of in vitro hemolysis on laboratory testing 39
  12. 9 Spurious hemolysis and veterinary medicine 55
  13. 10 Detection of hemolyzed specimens 57
  14. 11 Management of hemolyzed specimens 63
  15. 12 The challenge of synthetic blood substitutes 81
  16. References 89
  17. Index 101
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