What is the Difference Between Reticulocyte and Erythrocyte

The key difference between reticulocyte and erythrocyte is that reticulocyte is an immature red blood cell while erythrocyte is a mature red blood cell.

Blood cells are of different categories. The main blood cells in humans are red blood cells and white blood cells. Red blood cells are prominent and provide the characteristic colour to blood. Red blood cells develop in a process called haematopoiesis. Reticulocytes and erythrocytes are two cell types present in two stages of haematopoiesis.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is a Reticulocyte 
3. What is an Erythrocyte
4. Similarities – Reticulocyte and Erythrocyte
5. Reticulocyte vs Erythrocyte in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Reticulocyte vs Erythrocyte

What is a Reticulocyte?

A reticulocyte is an immature red blood cell. Reticulocytes form during the early stages of blood cell formation called erythropoiesis. Reticulocytes form and develop in the bone marrow and then circulate in the bloodstream for about 24 hours, maturing into fully formed red blood cells. Reticulocytes do not have a nucleus.

The term reticulocyte comes from the characteristic reticular shaped (a mesh-like) network of ribosomal RNA. This mesh-like structure is clearly visible under a microscope upon staining with methylene blue and Romanowsky stain. The normal reticulocyte reference range in a healthy adult is 0.5 % to 2.5 %, and in an infant, it is around 2 % to 6 %. This range would vary with the level of different clinical situations. To measure reticulocytes accurately, new technologies such as automated counters with laser excitation, detectors, and fluorescent dyes are used. In the field of research, reticulocytes are a critical tool for studying protein translation. The main function of reticulocytes is to diagnose and evaluate disease conditions such as anaemia and bone marrow disorders.

What is an Erythrocyte?

Erythrocyte is an anucleate biconcave cell that transports oxygen with the presence of haemoglobin. The other clinical terms for erythrocytes are red blood cells or RBCs. The main function of erythrocytes is to transport oxygen and carbon dioxide from the lungs to the tissues and from the tissues to the lungs, respectively. Erythrocytes develop in the red bone marrow through a process known as erythropoiesis. Here, stem cell-derived erythroid precursor cells undergo a series of different morphological changes and finally develop into mature erythrocytes.

The lifespan of mature erythrocytes is 100 to 120 days. They get recycled in the spleen, bone marrow, liver, and lymph nodes by the respective macrophages. Erythrocytes are the basis for glycated haemoglobin test (HbA1c), which is performed for diabetic patients every three months to check blood glucose levels. Disorders caused due to erythrocytes are anaemia (deficiency of healthy red blood cells in the blood) and polycythaemia (increase in the number of red blood cells in the blood).

What are the Similarities Between Reticulocyte and Erythrocyte?

• Reticulocyte and erythrocyte are two types of eukaryotic cells.
• They represent two stages of red blood cells.
• Both cells develop in the bone marrow.
• Moreover, they are anucleate.
• Both reticulocytes and erythrocytes circulate in the bloodstream.

What is the Difference Between Reticulocyte and Erythrocyte?

Reticulocyte is an immature red blood cell, while erythrocyte is a mature red blood cell. Thus, this is the key difference between reticulocyte and erythrocyte. Moreover, the function of reticulocytes is to diagnose and evaluate disease conditions such as anaemia and bone marrow disorders, while the function of erythrocytes is to transport oxygen and carbon dioxide from the lungs to the tissues and from the tissues to the lungs, respectively. So, this is another difference between reticulocyte and erythrocyte. Also, the lifespan of a reticulocyte is one hour, while the lifespan of an erythrocyte is 100-120 days.

The below infographic presents the differences between reticulocyte and erythrocyte in tabular form for side by side comparison.

Summary – Reticulocyte vs Erythrocyte

Reticulocyte is an immature red blood cell. Reticulocytes form during the early stages of blood cell formation called erythropoiesis. Erythrocyte is an anucleate biconcave cell that transports oxygen with the presence of haemoglobin. It is a fully mature red blood cell. The function of reticulocytes is to diagnose and evaluate disease conditions such as anaemia and bone marrow disorders. The function of erythrocytes is to transport oxygen and carbon dioxide from the lungs to the tissues and from the tissues to the lungs, respectively. Hence, this summarizes the difference between reticulocyte and erythrocyte.

Reference:

1.  MD, Jana Vasković “Erythrocytes.” Kenhub.
2. “Reticulocyte: Definition, Count, Index & Normal Ranges.” Sight Diagnostics.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Reticulocytes Human Blood Supravital Stain” By Ed Uthman, MD, pathologist, Houston, Texas, USA – Own work (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “1903 Shape of Red Blood Cells” By OpenStax College – Anatomy & Physiology, Connexions Web site, Jun 19, 2013. (CC BY 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia