Question

How would reticulocyte count be affected by each of the following? • iron deficiency • vitamin B9 or B12 deficiency • increased rate of blood cell synthesis in response to blood loss over a prolong period • aplastic anemia

Answer 1

Reticulocytes represent those incompletely developed types of cells which give rise to red blood cells or erythrocytes in the circulatory system. In this regard, reticulocytes can be considered as immature erythrocytes and hence, their concentration is crucial for maintenance of healthy blood count in the body. The reticulocyte concentration is highly affected under stress/stimulus thus causing physiological alterations in the body. The following effects can be expected in reticulocytes under physiological conditions:

1. Iron deficiency: Iron deficiency is associated with low oxygen-carrying capacity and hence in order to maintain a healthy oxygen concentration in the body, the erythrocytes and hence reticulocytes increase in blood.
2. Vitamin B9 or B12 deficiency: Vitamin B9 or B12 deficiency leads to failure in maturation of red blood cells thus causing increase in reticulocyte concentration in order to maintain normal physiological conditions.
3. Increased rate of blood cell synthesis: As a result of enahnced rate of blood cell synthesis under stress/stimulus, the rate of reticulocyte synthesis also increases.
4. Aplastic anemia: Aplastic anemia arises due to failure in complete physical development of red blood cells and thus prevents proper oxygen transport. In order to restore the oxygen transport, the body tries to synthesize more red blood cells and hence more reticulocyte concentration can be expected in the blood.