31.4 Repair Flashcards
Give a definition for pathology in reference to wound repair.
These are the mechanisms by which cells, tissues and organs defend themselves against injury and insult
What are the four main defence systems?
- Haemostasis (blood clotting)
- Inflammation
- Immunity and immune responses
- Wound repair
What are the goals and outcomes of wound repair?
- Removal of dead and damaged cells
- Removal of the fibrin clot (fibrinolysis)
- Removal of other molecules in the exudate
- Restoration of damaged structures
What are two important things to note about wound repair?
- Repair starts at the same time as inflammation
- Repair is a dynamic process
What are the good outcomes of wound repair?
Resolution and repair
- Complete restoration of normal function
- E.g. haematopoietic system (blood lost through haemorrhage or trauma will be replaced relatively quickly by haemopoietic stem cells)
- E.g. damage to the gut epithelium (very high capacity for repair)
- E.g. bone fracture in young people (if set properly, complete restoration of structure and function)
What are some examples of bad outcomes of wound repair?
- Excessive repair
- Hypertrophic scars (scar does not extend beyond the wound, raised scar tissue)
- Keloid (scar does extend beyond the boundaries of the wound, raised scar tissue)
- Replacement of normal tissue with fibrous scar
- E.g. in myocardial infarct, myocardium is replaced with scar tissue, which affects function through being less able to contract and upsetting the electrolyte balance around the tissue
- Continued ulceration
- Chronic, non-healing wounds
Following inflammation, what is formed at the site of injury?
Granulation tissue
What is granulation tissue?
- NB NOT the same as granuloma (small area of inflammation)
- Opposite of necrosis
- This is new connective tissue full of newly forming blood vessels that are needed for wound healing
- This tissue is created and modified by fibroblasts
- Pink in colour (due to new blood vessels)
- Granular due to punctate haemorrhage (small capillary haemorrhages into the skin that form petechiae, small brown/red spots)
- Fibroblasts lay down extracellular matrix (ECM), especially type III collagen
- This is later replaced by type I collagen, the main constituent of scar tissue
What is shown here?
Granulation tissue.
* Arrows indicate macrophages in granulation tissue
* Also some indication of angiogenesis
Which cell type is highly abundant in granulation tissue?
Fibroblast rich tissue - secrete collagen I and III and GAGs
Which cell types are involved in wound repair?
Fibroblasts
Macrophages and neutrophils
Endothelial cells
Describe what happens during angiogenesis
PART OF GRANULATION TISSUE
Endothelial cell migration
Endothelial cell proliferation (VEGF and TGF alpha) = vascular budding along fibronectin molecules
Proteolysis of ECM (collagenases)
Tube formation
What is the role of angiogenesis in wound repair?
In wound repair, angiogenesis forms new vessels from pre-existing vessels through invasion of the wound clot and organisation of a microvascular network through the granulation tissue.
How are lymphatic vessels involved in wound repair?
- Their regeneration and presence is important for wound healing, and this is seen through:
- VEGFR3 (vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3)-expressing lymphatic vessels found in early granulation tissues, with regression in later stages
- The ligand for VEGFR3 (VEGFC) increases in response to tissue injury
- Wounds with impaired lymphatic systems are more susceptible to infection and a failure to heal properly
- This is because a function of the lymphatic system is to remove debris from a site of infection - preventing this could increase bacterial colonisation and trap other growth factors/matrix proteins
- Excessive oedema can also compress other vessels and limit blood flow, causing the area to become ischaemic
- The lymphatic system is also closely linked to the immune response, and so is necessary to fight infection
- VEGFR3 (vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 3)-expressing lymphatic vessels found in early granulation tissues, with regression in later stages
How does angiogenesis occur and what is its role in wound repair?
Characterised by:
- Endothelial cell migration
- This is via fibronectin (glycoprotein involved in cell-adhesive interactions, induced intracellular signalling changes)
- Endothelial cell proliferation
- Mediated by vascular endothelial growth factors (VEGFs, secreted by macrophages and platelets) and transforming growth factor alpha (TGF-ɑ, likely to be secreted by cells of endothelial origin)
- Proteolysis of ECM
- This is achieved via collagenases, tPA and uPA
- Endothelial cell tube formation
In wound repair, angiogenesis forms new vessels from preexisting vessels through invasion of the wound clot and organisation of a microvascular network through the granulation tissue
*
Why is blood clotting important for wound healing?
- Blood clots form at sites of injury to prevent bleeding
- This occurs within minutes or even seconds
- They prevent further blood loss, which is obviously beneficial
- Blood clots also seal off a potential entrance into the body for pathogens
Which factor tightens and stabilises the platelet plug?
Factor XIIIa
How are platelets activated?
Endothelial cell damage = express von-Willebrand factor and collagen exposed from damaged vessels which activates platelets
What does vWF bind to during activation?
Platelet receptor glycoprotein Ib/Ia
What happens after platelet activation?
Platelet adhesion and aggregation
-release of thrombin
-exocytosis of alpha granules:
vWF, Clotting factor V, PDGF (platelet activating factor which recruits fibroblasts) and fibrinogen deposition