Erythropoiesis Flashcards
Erythropoiesis
Process of RBC formation inside the bone marrow
Erythron
Total mass of RBCs in peripheral blood and bone marrow RBC precursors
RBC mass
Erythrocytes in the circulation
Erythrokinetics
Dynamics of RBC creation and destruction (average lifespan 120 days)
Ineffective erythropoiesis
Production of defective RBC precursors, often undergoing apoptosis in bone marrow
Examples of ineffective erythropoiesis conditions
Vitamin B12 deficiency, folate deficiency, thalassemia, sideroblastic anemia
Insufficient erythropoiesis
Decrease in RBC precursors, leading to decreased RBC production
Examples of insufficient erythropoiesis conditions
Iron deficiency, renal disease, acute leukemia
RBC survival test method
Label RBCs with chromium-51 (51Cr), track radioactivity decay to calculate survival time
Normal RBC survival time range
28 to 38 days
Anemia is classifies as
A sign, not a disease
Immature hematopoietic cells committed to a cell line; cannot be identified
Progenitor cells
Immature hematopoietic cells identifiable as belonging to a specific cell line
Precursor cells
Earliest marker of erythroid differentiation
CD71 (transferrin receptor)
Transport protein of iron in blood
Transferrin
Primary cell source of erythropoietin (EPO)
Peritubular interstitial cells in kidneys
Primary target cells of EPO
BFU-E and CFU-E
Effects of EPO
1) Early release of reticulocytes from bone marrow, 2) Reduces maturation time in bone marrow, 3) Prevents apoptosis (major way EPO increases RBC mass)
Therapeutic applications of EPO
Anemia of chronic renal disease, autologous blood donation, anemia in HIV infection
“Blood doping”
Athletes use EPO injections to increase oxygen-carrying capacity, which can lead to thrombosis
Growth hormone and erythropoiesis
Stimulates erythropoiesis, produced by pituitary gland
Testosterone and erythropoiesis
Stimulates erythropoiesis, produced by testes
Prolactin and erythropoiesis
Stimulates erythropoiesis, produced by pituitary gland
Estrogen and erythropoiesis
Inhibits erythropoiesis, produced by ovaries
Stages of RBC maturation
BFU-E → CFU-E → Rubriblast → Pro(basophilic) → rubriblast (polychromatophilic) → Meta(Orthochromatic) → Reticulocyte → Mature erythrocyte
Rubriblastic stages
Rubriblast → Prorubricyte → Rubricyte → Metarubricyte → Reticulocyte (seen in supravital stain) → Mature erythrocyte
Normoblastic stages
Pronormoblast → Basophilic (Early) Normoblast → Polychromatophilic/Intermediate Normoblast → Orthochromatic Normoblast (Late Normoblast) → Reticulocyte → Mature erythrocyte
Erythroblastic stages
Proerythroblast → Basophilic (Early) Erythroblast → Polychromatophilic Erythroblast (Intermediate Erythroblast) → Orthochromatic Erythroblast → Reticulocyte → Mature erythrocyte
Earliest committed erythroid progenitor
BFU-E (Burst forming unit- erythroid)
Second committed erythroid progenitor
CFU-E (Colony forming unit erythroid)
Time from BFU-E to CFU-E
1 week
Time from CFU-E to Rubriblast
1 week
Time for BFU-E to mature to erythrocyte
18 to 21 days
Time spent as recognizable precursors in bone marrow
Approximately 6 days
Supravital stains for reticulocytes
BCB (Brilliant cresyl blue), NMB (New methylene blue)