Erythrocyte - Cell Membrane - Haemoglobin - Iron v0.1

What do we know about the Red Blood Cell??? Lifespan: approx. 120 days Circulation cycle time: approx. 20 seconds Number of red blood cells in the human body: 20-30 trillions; Renewal rate: approx. 2 million per second; Haemoglobin units in cytoplasm of one erythrocyte: approx. 270 millions Haemic iron ions per haemoglobin unit: 4 Haemic iron ions per erythrocyte: approx. 1 billion Dimensions: 7-8 μm (diameter) 90 fl (volume) 136 μm2 (surface) Proteins: 751 proteins identified so far (by Mass Spectroscopy) Genes: 1019 RNA gene transcripts found so far (by Microarrays Technique) Metabolic Pathways: Glicolytic; Pentose Phosphate Pathway; Nucleoside Metabolism; Galactose Pathway; Glutathione Synthesis; Glyoxalase Pathway; Catalase; Methaemoglobin Reductase. Evolution: http://unendingevolution.wordpress.com/?attachment_id=383 Additional Information: Plasma membrane inner surface is lined with a spectrin skeleton that confers tensegrity. RBCs pass through capillaries with 1 μm in diameter. But we now know much more than that... More to come! Sources: Piriegè et al (2008); Goodman et al. (2007); Kabanova et al (2009); Kuchel, P. W. (2004); T. Ryan Gregory (2001).