"Cells at Work!" is one of the most talked-about anime of the summer of 2018. Its unique worldview offers a glimpse into the daily work of the 37 trillion cells that exist within the body.
Source: Cells at Work © Shimizu Akane/Kodansha, Aniplex, davidproduction
This time, we'll be looking at the red blood cells, the protagonists of this work. This female character works hard to deliver nutrients and oxygen every day, and she appears every time in the series.
So, let's take a look at the appeal and characteristics of the red blood cells from "Cells at Work" through the series' episodes.
1. What do red blood cells do?
Source: Cells at Work! © Akane Shimizu/Kodansha, Aniplex, David Production
The job of red blood cells, which contain a lot of hemoglobin, is to transport oxygen and nutrients to cells throughout the body and deliver carbon dioxide to the lungs through blood circulation. The main character is a rookie red blood cell named "AE3803."
His uniform is a red jacket and shorts.
He often gets lost
Source: Cells at Work! © Akane Shimizu/Kodansha, Aniplex, davidproduction
The rookie red blood cell is not only still new to his job, but he's also had a terrible time finding his way since childhood. As a result, he often gets lost when transporting oxygen and nutrients to ensure blood circulation, and each time he needs help from white blood cells and other organisms.
Try circulating alone every once in a while
Source: Cells at Work! © Akane Shimizu/Kodansha, Aniplex, David Production
Usually, Red Blood Cell gets lost. While always relying on the help of his senior red and white blood cells, he sets a goal to become a full-fledged member of the team by circulating alone without getting lost.
At the time, the red blood cells were so enthusiastic that they couldn't hear the voices of the white blood cells or the senior red blood cells, and although they ran into some trouble, they somehow managed to circulate on their own.
Two Types of Red Blood Cell Circulation
Source: Cells at Work! © Akane Shimizu/Kodansha, Aniplex, David Production
Red blood cells' job is to transport oxygen, nutrients, and carbon dioxide through blood circulation. There are two types of blood circulation in the body: "pulmonary circulation" and "systemic circulation."
In the "pulmonary circulation," blood circulates through the right ventricle, pulmonary artery, lungs, pulmonary vein, and left atrium.
The "systemic circulation" circulates in the following order: left ventricle → aorta → artery → capillaries → veins → vena cava → right atrium.
The uniform is reversible
Source: Cells at Work! © Shimizu Akane / Kodansha, Aniplex, davidproduction
The red blood cell's uniform consists of a red jacket, shorts, and a red hat, but it's actually reversible.
When it passes through the arteries, it is light in color and is in a bit of a hurry to deliver oxygen quickly.
When it passes through the veins, it is dark in color and is more relaxed as it only delivers unused carbon dioxide to the lungs.
Targeted by Bacteria
Source: Cells at Work! © Shimizu Akane/Kodansha, Aniplex, David Production
Red blood cells transport oxygen and nutrients every day, but they can be targeted by bacteria that prey on those nutrients. When red blood cells are destroyed, a phenomenon known as "hemolysis" occurs.
The number of red blood cells is very high
Source: Cells at Work! © Akane Shimizu/Kodansha, Aniplex, David Production
The number of red blood cells in the body is said to be approximately 4.3 to 5.7 million per μL in adult men and approximately 3.9 to 5.2 million per μL in adult women. Red blood cells are said to be a large number, even within the body. When you consider that this many red blood cells are transporting oxygen throughout the body, it's a massive scale.
I also train new employees
Source: Cells at Work © Akane Shimizu/Kodansha, Aniplex, David Production
Red Blood Cell had become somewhat accustomed to his job, but one day he was tasked with training a new employee. However, he felt disheartened because he himself was still inexperienced and the new employee was so talented that there was nothing for him to teach.
Complete your work until the end
When the body is in dire straits due to hemorrhagic shock, red blood cells refuse to give up and continue to deliver nutrients to the body, determined to complete their work.
An Ominous Signal
Source: Cells at Work! © Akane Shimizu/Kodansha, Aniplex, David Production
When cancer cells develop in the body, red blood cells sense an ominous premonition and begin to emit ominous signals around them. The ominous signals that occurred included 1) breaking shoelaces, 2) walking under a ladder, 3) breaking dishes, and 4) rustling of flyaway hair, and they gave the cells a bad feeling.
2. What is the relationship with other cells?
Source: Cells at Work! © Akane Shimizu/Kodansha, Aniplex, David Production
As the main character, red blood cells are depicted in many scenes interacting with other cells. Here, we will introduce the relationship between red blood cells and other cells.
What about red blood cells and white blood cells?
Source: Cells at Work! © Akane Shimizu/Kodansha, Aniplex, davidproduction
The first encounter between red blood cells and white blood cells was when the red blood cell was being attacked by pneumococcus and the white blood cell saved it. Since then, they have had many opportunities to meet, protecting each other from bacteria and showing them the way.
What are red blood cells and platelets?
Source: Cells at Work! © Shimizu Akane / Kodansha, Aniplex, David Production
Platelets are beloved as a healing system within the body, and when they encounter red blood cells working within the body, they heal them. They also actively interact with platelets, sometimes helping them with their work or playing with them.
Also, when platelets form secondary blood clots, they sometimes get red blood cells to cooperate, causing great suffering to the red blood cells that get caught up in them. If you're not careful, you could get caught up in a secondary platelet clot.
Red Blood Cells and Macrophages
Source: Cells at Work! © Akane Shimizu/Kodansha, Aniplex, David Production
Macrophages have a history of being involved in the development of red blood cells when they were still children's erythroblasts. Macrophages were the teacher and erythroblasts were the student.
3. What was red blood cell's childhood like?
Source: Cells at Work! © Shimizu Akane / Kodansha, Aniplex, David Production
Red blood cells are born in the bone marrow as erythroblasts and grow to become fully-fledged red blood cells. Macrophages play a major role in the maturation of erythroblasts, and they grow through various studies.
Getting lost since childhood
Source: Cells at Work! © Akane Shimizu/Kodansha, Aniplex, David Production
Even as an erythroblast, Red Blood Cell was prone to getting lost. Even in a maze during a training session on internal circulation, he got lost and became dizzy.
Have you met White Blood Cell as a child?
Source: Cells at Work! © Shimizu Akane/Kodansha, Aniplex, David Production
When a lost erythroblast encounters Pseudomonas aeruginosa, it is protected by a myelocyte, a young form of a white blood cell. At first, it seems like they are meeting for the first time, but it turns out they actually met once before in childhood.
Enucleation occurs when becoming a red blood cell
Source: Cells at Work! © Akane Shimizu/Kodansha, Aniplex, davidproduction
When an erythroblast becomes a red blood cell, the cell loses its nucleus because there is no longer a need for cell division. This is called enucleation, and in the story, a macrophage tears off the pom-pom on the erythroblast's cap, transforming it into a fully-fledged red blood cell.
Summary
Source: Cells at Work! © Akane Shimizu/Kodansha, Aniplex, David Production
The red blood cells, the protagonists of "Cells at Work!", are working energetically inside our bodies today as well. We're excited to see what she, the story's protagonist, will accomplish in the future. Keep an eye on the red blood cells in "Cells at Work!"
