Question

what is the function of RBCs??​

Answer 1

The main job of red blood cells, or erythrocytes, is to carry oxygen from the lungs to the body tissues and carbon dioxide as a waste product, away from the tissues and back to the lungs. Hemoglobin (Hgb) is an important protein in the red blood cells that carries oxygen from the lungs to all parts of our body.

Answer 2

1. 1. The primary function of red blood cells is to transport oxygen to body cells and deliver carbon dioxide to the lungs.
2. When red blood cells undergo shear stress in constricted vessels, they release ATP, which causes the vessel walls to relax and dilate so as to promote normal blood flow.

• When their hemoglobin molecules are deoxygenated, red blood cells release S-nitrosothiols, which also act to dilate blood vessels, thus directing more blood to areas of the body depleted of oxygen.
• Red blood cells can also synthesize nitric oxide enzymatically, using L-arginine as substrate, as do endothelial cells. Exposure of red blood cells to physiological levels of shear stress activates nitric oxide synthase and export of nitric oxide, which may contribute to the regulation of vascular tonus.
• Red blood cells can also produce hydrogen sulfide, a signalling gas that acts to relax vessel walls. It is believed that the cardioprotective effects of garlic are due to red blood cells converting its sulfur compounds into hydrogen sulfide.
• Red blood cells also play a part in the body's immune response: when lysed by pathogens such as bacteria, their hemoglobin releases free radicals, which break down the pathogen's cell wall and membrane, killing it.