Talk:Red blood cell

Semi-protected edit request on 17 November 2023

Old paragraph: As red blood cells contain no nucleus, protein biosynthesis is currently assumed to be absent in these cells. Because of the lack of nuclei and organelles, mature red blood cells do not contain DNA and cannot synthesize RNA, and consequently cannot divide and have limited repair capabilities.

Request for new edit: Recent research contradicts the prior belief that mature human red blood cells lack DNA and RNA due to nucleus loss during differentiation. Instead, it reveals the presence of various microRNAs and mRNA transcripts in these cells. Analysis of erythrocyte microRNAs found a subgroup of HbSS with severe anemia, linked to elevated miR-144 expression and NRF2 repression. Furthermore, recent evidence suggests substantial amounts of large RNA species, including mRNA and non-coding RNA, exist in mature red blood cells. Kimmy3737 (talk) 21:03, 17 November 2023 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 16 October 2023

Would like to add new information to the following sentence:

"As red blood cells contain no nucleus, protein biosynthesis is currently assumed to be absent in these cells"

New research from Kumar et. al has identified low levels of protein translation in red blood cells, specifically with regard to alpha and beta globin translation. Further, the researchers have also indicated the presence of polysomes through transmission electron microscopy. I think it could be informative to future readers to be familiar with this information as the current page indicates that RBCs are not capable of protein synthesis, which stands in contradiction to their long lifespans that seem to be unsustainable without protein synthesis. I have drafted a suggested change below:

"Because red blood cells contain no nucleus, protein biosynthesis was previously assumed to be absent in these cells; however, recent studies have revealed low levels of α-globin and β-globin mRNA transcript translation in addition to the presence of polysomes in red blood cells, providing evidence that supports their long life span" (Kumar et. al 2022).

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9635303/#:~:text=Recent%20studies%20have%20reported%20the,mature%20erythrocytes%20perform%20protein%20synthesis. 199.36.244.32 (talk) 03:10, 18 November 2023 (UTC)

Suggestion to change the title to "erythrocytes"

The scientific name for these cells is erythrocytes. They are known as red blood cells, not the other way around. Wikipedia is a scientific source, not a children's coloring book. Lajoswinkler (talk) 19:25, 16 January 2024 (UTC)

Wikipedia is an encyclopedia for the general reader - scientific info is detailed on pages - entry terms preferably use the generally known terms.--Iztwoz (talk) 11:44, 10 March 2024 (UTC)

That's why we have redirects. Wikipedia is not supposed to promote general ignorance, but keep at it. Lajoswinkler (talk) 19:46, 11 March 2024 (UTC)

Physiology

Non Necleated RBC @ 2407:D000:503:B96F:5140:CC8E:3D6B:1286 (talk) 12:19, 14 February 2024 (UTC)