Contents


Preface

Erythrocytes or red blood cells (RBCs) make up about 84% of total cells in the human body and approximately 2.4 million RBCs are produced per second in an adult human. Each erythrocyte contains 270 million haemoglobin molecules

There are no nuclei, mitochondria, or any other organelles in mature RBCs. As such, they do not contain DNA and are not able to produce any RNA or protein, and thus

Although RBCs are considered bags for carrying haemoglobin for gas exchange, their cell membrane contains a number of lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates. This makes them capable of acting as peripheral biomarkers for many pathological

Early identification of key changes in erythrocytes in response to inflammatory or

*Erythrocyte - A Peripheral Biomarker for Infection and Inflammation* is divided into

The first chapter in Section 1 describes the role of iron deficiency (ID) in erythrocytes in regulating anaemia and heart failure. In heart failure, the ID rather than anaemia serves as the predictor for clinical outcome. In fact, ID has been shown to be a stronger predictor of the patients outcome than anaemia. ID without anaemia carries greater risk and poorer outcome compared to an anaemic patient without ID.

The second chapter in Section 1 discusses the role of erythrocytes in immunology, their interaction with viruses, metal ions, trace elements, and reactive oxygen species, and their involvement in sepsis and genetic disorders. It also examines the modulation of oxidative stress (OS) in erythrocytes in bacterial and viral infections. This chapter demonstrates how variations in RBC's proteins, lipids, and antioxidant capacity can be used as an OS biomarker to evaluate the efficiency of the erythrocytes in response to oxidative insults due to viral or bacterial intrusion. These infections alter the antioxidant capacity of erythrocytes, causing damage to surrounding cells and tissues. Thus, OS biomarkers can be used to gain insights into the effects of bacterial and viral infections on the erythrocyte microenvironment

Section 2 begins with a chapter describing how to measure early predictive biomarkers for hypertension by using human foetal astrocytes (HFAs) as an experimental model. The authors explain and demonstrate why and how HFAs are a good model for the detection of biomolecules that can predict the future onset of high blood pressure. Long processes of HFAs are mainly supported by intermediate filaments (IF), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is classified as a type III intermediate filament protein that is abundantly present in astrocytes. Elevated GFAP levels are being considered as a marker of astroglial injury, indicating the

conversion of non-reactive (A2) into reactive (A1) astrocytes.

two sections: "Cells with a Signature" and "Functional Biomarkers."

responsible for carrying oxygen and giving red colour to these cells.

infectious diseases saves millions of lives worldwide.

which is described in the third chapter.

cannot be attacked by viruses.

conditions.
