3. Blood (1) Flashcards
What is blood?
- Fluid
- circulates in vessels
- consists of:
- Water, electrolytes (HCO3-)
- Nutrients (glucose, lipids,
micronutrients) - Proteins (albumin, inactive
clotting factors & anticoagulants) - Hormones,
- Waste products (urea, uric acid,
bilirubin
What is the “Cells”?
- red blood cells
- platelets
- white blood cells
What are functions of the red blood cells?
Polynuclear:
Mononuclear:
How are red blood cells produced?
Embryo and Foetus:
Liver and spleen
How are red blood cells produced?
Adult life: bone marrow
- Bone marrow: in all bones, but in particular
- flat bones (iliac bones, sternum, ribs, vertebrae)
- proximal portions of long bones (tibia, humerus, femur)
What is haematopoiesis (blood cell synthesis)?
- All blood cells are made in red bone marrow.
- All blood cells are derived from pluripotent haematopoietic stem cells, also called ________.
haemocytoblasts
In addition to replicating themselves, pluripotent haematopoietic stems cells produce partially differentiated daughter cells that are common _______ progenitor cells or common lymphoid _______ cells.
myeloid
lymphoid
What is the function of common lymphoid progenitor cells?
- Common lymphoid progenitor cells divide and differentiate to ultimately generate T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes, which are important in the “adaptive” immune system.
What is the function of B lymphocytes?
B lymphocytes make antibodies, which are proteins that bind to pathogens, foreign proteins and damaged cells and proteins as part of the immune response.
- Common myeloid progenitor cells divide and differentiate to produce precursor cells for generating red blood cells: (4)
(erythrocytes), granulocytes, monocytes and megakaryocytes.
Granulocytes include:
neutrophils, basophils and eosinophils, which are important for fighting infections by different types of pathogens.
Megakaryocytes give off cell particles, called platelets, which are important for blood _______ (clotting) in combination with clotting factors in the plasma.
coagulation
Erythropoiesis: Development and differentiation of red
blood cells (7)
What is the function of Haematopoietic stem cells?
Haematopoietic stem cells divide to replicate and they to form partially differentiated common myeloid precursor stem cells.
What is the function common myeloid stem cells?
Common myeloid stem cells replicate and differentiate to form unipotent stem cells that start to make haemoglobin and can give rise only to erythrocytes
Unipotent stem cells replicate and form _______, which continue to make haemoglobin.
proerythroblasts
How do proerythroblasts replicate?
- Proerythroblasts replicate and form erythroblasts, which also make haemoglobin.
- Erythroblasts then expel their nucleus and organelles (mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, etc.) to form reticulocytes, which still contain some RNA
How are reticulocytes released?
Reticulocytes are released from the bone marrow into the blood, where they mature into erythrocytes (mature red blood cells), which are disk-shaped and have
no RNA or DNA.
- Cell replication requires DNA replication.
- DNA replication requires nitrogenous bases.
- The micronutrients, folate (folic acid) and vitamin B12, are required for ________ of the nitrogenous bases used to make DNA, especially thymidine
(dTTP). (What happens to blood cells if a person has a deficiency of folate or vitamin B12?) - Synthesis of haemoglobin requires the micronutrient, ______. (What happens to blood
cells if a person has a deficiency of iron?) - Erythrocytes die after ~____ days in the blood.
biosynthesis
iron
120
- A 50-year-old man has had kidney disease for years of years and it getting worse.
- When he comes to the clinic, his skin is pale, he is out of breath and tires very easily.
- How could his kidney disease explain his symptoms?
…
Regulation of Erythropoiesis (red blood cell synthesis)
If there are too few RBCs: (3)
- Too little oxygen delivery
- Decreased metabolism
- Tissue cell death
If there are too many RBCs (polycythaemia): (3)
- Enough oxygen present, but
- Increased blood viscosity
- Decreased flow (blood clots and other problems)
How do we tell the bone marrow to increase or decrease the synthesis of RBCs?
RBC oxygen and erythropoietin
Regulation of red blood cell synthesis:
How does Erythropoietin?
- Erythropoietin is the main hormone that stimulates erythrocyte (red blood cell) production.
- Made in the KIDNEY (90%) and liver (10%).
What is hypoxia?
- Hypoxia of the kidneys stimulates erythropoietin production.
- EPO is produced in cells bordering renal arterioles that are immediately sensitive to O2 changes in RBCs.
- EPO is produced in cells bordering _____ _______ that are immediately sensitive to O2 changes in RBCs.
- Release of ____ from the kidney stops once tissue oxygenation is back to normal.
renal arterioles
EPO
- Increased EPO release can be elevated for long periods of time to sustain long periods of exposure to ______ (e.g. in high altitude).
- If erythropoietin cannot be produced: lower stimulation of erythrocyte production ______.
hypoxia
anaemia
Insufficient erythropoiesis results:
in anaemia
Factors that decrease tissue oxygen (cause hypoxia)
and stimulate the production of Erythropoietin (EPO): (4)
- Anaemia = below-normal O2-carrying capacity of
the blood, characterized by a low haematocrit and/or low haemoglobin. - Poor blood flow: e.g. heart failure, low blood
pressure, haemorrhage. - Pulmonary disease: decreased O2 entry from lung
to blood. - High altitude: O2 in the air is decreased.
Whole blood allowed to stand or centrifuged separates into: (3)
- cellular components (at the bottom of the tube)
- leukocytes on top of erythrocytes
- plasma (on top of the tube).
Cellular component (mostly red blood cells) =
45-55% (in Johannesburg) of the whole blood sample volume
Percentage volume of RBCs in blood =
Haematocrit.
= _________ RBCs/litre of Blood (~5 million
million/l) (more in men than women)
(compare with ~5 x 109/litre WBCs= ~5
thousand million/l)
Erythrocytes: (4)
- No nucleus (cannot replicate)
- No organelles (no protein synthesis, no oxidative
metabolism) - Enzymes are present for anaerobic glycolysis, pentose
phosphate pathway (anti-oxidant), converting CO2 to
H2CO3 (carbonic acid, carbonic anhydrase) - Disk-like biconcave shape
- _______ disk shape provides a large surface area for O2 to diffuse into the cell.
- Shape enables O2 to diffuse rapidly to the whole cell.
- Very flexible “loose” membrane allows RBCs to ______ and squeezes through vessels less than 3 μm in diameter (RBC diameter = 7.8 μm)
- RBCs contain ________.
- 12 – 16 g/decilitre of blood (1/10 litre)
= 120 to 160 g/l
Biconcave
deform
haemoglobin
1 Haem + 1 globin polypeptide chain (alpha or beta) =
1 subunit of haemoglobin
1 molecule of haemoglobin contains 4 haemoglobin subunits
1 molecule of haemoglobin contains : (3)
-4 haems
-4 polypeptide chains
-4 Fe++
2 alpha chains + 2 beta chains haemoglobin A
What is the function of haemoglobin?
Erythrocyte and Haemoglobin Breakdown: (3)
- Lifespan of an erythrocyte ~120 days
- Membranes become fragile and break when erythrocytes go through small vessels in the spleen (3 μm vs. 8 μm of diameter).
- When the cells break, free haemoglobin is bound by a plasma protein, haptoglobin.
What happens when macrophages phagocytose haptoglobin-haemoglobin complex?
Where is bilirubin released? (4)
- Bilirubin is released into the blood
- Bilirubin is then transported to- and metabolized by- the liver and intestines.
- Plasma haptoglobin concentration decreases.
- Liver’s capacity to metabolise bilirubin is exceeded and bilirubin accumulates in blood and tissues skin and mucosa and eye conjunctivae become yellow (icteric) jaundice
What happens if there is excessive breakdown of RBCs?
to: (2)
plasma haptoglobin
plasma bilirubin
How does Haemoglobin (Hb) Bind Oxygen? (7)
How does Haemoglobin (Hb) Bind Oxygen? HAEM
* 98% of O2 in blood is bound to Hb
* 1 molecular oxygen (O2) binds to Fe2+ in each
haem group.
* 4 O2 + Hb –> Hb(O2)4
* Binding is non-covalent and reversible
* Fe2+ is not oxidised (to Fe3+) (methaemoglobin).
* O2 binds to Hb easily (tightly) in the pulmonary
capillaries (high [O2]).
* O2 is released easily in the capillaries of the
peripheral tissues (low [O2]).
When O2 is bound to Hb —>
When O2 dissociates from (leaves) Hb —>
- When O2 is bound to Hb blood appears red
(arteries) - When O2 dissociates from (leaves) Hb blood
appears blueish (veins)