ABSTRACT
Mature (unnucleated) human erythrocytes do not circulate as isolated entities within our cardiovascular system. They interact with nucleated cell types of the organism and even share some of their properties. Erythrocytes, like liver cells, actively maintain the dynamic inter-organ glutathione (GSH) metabolism by providing GSH to the blood plasma. Furthermore, there is a signifi cant concurrence of the most crucial metabolic pathways: the glycolysis, sorbitol, glyoxalase and pentose phosphate pathways, which play an equally prominent role in nucleated cells. Their capacity to interact
1Department of Dermatology, University Medical Center Kiel, Schittenhelmstr. 7, Zipe Code: 24105 ,Kiel, Germany. Email: mehrdad.nia@gmx.de 2Dermatology, University Medical Center Tübingen, Liebermeisterstr. 25, Zipe Code: 72076, Tübingen, Germany. Email: thomas.wieder@med.uni-tuebingen.de 3Interfaculty Institute of Biochemistry, University of Tübingen, Hoppe-Seylerstr. 4, Zipe Code: 72076, Tübingen, Germany. Email: michael.duszenko@uni-tuebingen.de *Corresponding author
with other cell types is an integral part of their amazing multifunctionality, as for instance their infl uence on immune cells. They exert partial control on the activity of lymphocytes and a subpopulation of immature dendritic cells while they reside in the blood stream. Surprisingly, a recent discovery has revealed the existence of transcription factors such as nuclear factor κB (NFκB) in mature human erythrocytes, a point hitherto considered impossible (Ghashghaeinia et al. 2011, for additional details see Fig. 4.12.1). Future research will be needed to specify and clarify the actual function of those factors. Thus, human erythrocytes can-apart from their mere function as oxygen (O2) transporters sustaining aerobic respiration-adopt many other vital tasks. The century-old misconception of human erythrocytes that perceived these cells as monofunctional should be discarded. This mistaken belief has had several unfortunate consequences: a) the fi eld of erythrocyte research has been neglected so much that it has almost vanished from the literature and b) their functional involvement and biological signifi cance in non-erythrocytic diseases has not at all been taken into account.
