BIOC19H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Red Blood Cell, Erythropoiesis, Blood Plasma
Document Summary
Morphology of an erythrocyte: biconcave, disk-shaped structure, simple cells: no organelles, no nucleus, only plasma membrane, cytoskeleton and cytoplasm, 95% of protein content is hemoglobin. These blood cells are human, and the white in the middle => no nucleus. This electron microscope image is taken just under the cytoplasmic face of the cell membrane. Actin protein molecules are shown in green, and spectrin molecules are shown in red. Semester: fall 2019: transport oxygen away from the lungs and towards the body tissues to be used, transport carbon dioxide away from the tissues and towards the lungs to be expelled. Carbon dioxide is a waste product and needs to be removed via erythrocytes. Cells need oxygen as it is a key reactant in the process of cellular respiration => produces atp! The quaternary structure of hemoglobin is maintained via hydrogen bonds, salt bridges, and hydrophobic bonds. Investigative question: how do erythrocytes obtain and generate energy: simple answer: glycolysis.
