In one half of episode 6, Red Blood Cell gets lost once again. This time, she stumbles across the bone marrow where she was born and raised. She remembers back to the time when she was an Erythroblast. One time, she gets lost while running away from a neutrophil pretending to be a bacterium. Separated from the other erythroblasts, she is captured by a real Pseudomonas bacterium. Just as she is about to be killed, Myelocyte appears and tries to fight the bacterium without success. However, this buys time for Macrophage and Neutrophil to arrive and kill the bacterium. Erythroblast thanks Myelocyte for saving her before they part ways.

This blog post will not focus on bone marrow infections as they are relatively rare, save for an open fracture of the bone. Instead, we will focus on how red and white blood cells develop in the bone marrow.

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In this episode, the body is invaded by cedar pollen which harmlessly and mindlessly wander around, scaring the cells. While Memory Cell recalls a legend describing how the Meteors of Disaster (i.e., pollen) will devastate the human body, Plasma Cell eliminates the pollen with IgE antibody. The increased IgE concentrations prompt Mast Cell to release a huge amount of histamine which drowns the cells and devastates the human body. While Plasma Cell and Mast Cell butt heads, Red Blood Cell rolls an unknown package. Inside the package is a robot which proceeds to blast the cells away and destroy the surrounding environment to suppress the allergic response. After the robot runs out of power, the cells emerge out of the wreckage and forgive Plasma Cell and Mast Cell.

How would an allergy happen in real life? Read on as we look at how allergies develop and how they can be suppressed.

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In this episode, the body is invaded by two pathogens from contaminated raw seafood: Vibrio bacteria and the Anisakis parasite. Eosinophil tries unsuccessfully to kill the Vibrio bacteria as it invades the intestine. After the neutrophils kill the Vibrio bacteria, the other cells mock Eosinophil for being a weakling. Soon after; though, the Anisakis worm invades the stomach. Despite pleas from other cells to run away, Eosinophil faces the parasite alone and kills it in one stab. Much to Eosinophil’s embarrassment, the other cells commend her for killing the parasite and apologise for underestimating her.

How do neutrophils and eosinophils compare in killing bacteria and parasites respectively? Join us as we look at the killing mechanisms of these two distinct white blood cells.

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In this episode, Naïve T Cell patrols the body to find and kill influenza-infected cells. However, he gets easily scared by the influenza-infected cells that are portrayed as zombies. He is paralysed as the other White Blood Cells kill the influenza-infected cells and gets berated by Killer T Cell for not joining in the fight. Eventually, Naïve T Cell runs away from the battlefield and meets Dendritic Cell. Dendritic Cell encourages Naïve T Cell by explaining how every killer T cell went through the same experiences as him in the past and how every white blood cell is supporting him. These facts allowed Naïve T Cell to evolve into Effector T Cell who can effectively kill influenza-infected cells, ending the infection.

How do naïve T cells evolve into effector T cells in the human body and how do dendritic cells (DCs) contribute to this process? Join us as we unpack what the influenza virus is and how T cells are activated.

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In this episode, the human body has a skin abrasion which creates a hole sucking cells out of the body. Bacteria also invade the human body through the hole, so the white blood cells have to work tirelessly to stop them spreading further. Platelets eventually arrive to lay a fibrin mesh that covers the hole. This stops further entry of bacteria and allows white blood cells to eliminate the remaining bacteria. At the end of the episode, red and white blood cells become stuck in the blood clot as it is carted off by platelets.

How would the events of this episode work in real life? Join us as we dive into why the skin is important and how the damaged skin is repaired.

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