Cell Death Flashcards
What is cell death
• The culmination of irreversible injury
What are the 2 types of cell death
• Necrosis
• Apoptosis (may be physiologic i.e. seen in non-diseased cells)
What is necrosis
results from denaturation of intracellular proteins and enzymatic digestion of the irreversibly injured cell.
The enzymes that digest the necrotic cells are from where
from the dying cell’s lysosomes as well as the lysosomes of adjacent white blood cells.
What causes inflammation in the dying cell
The dying cell loses its membrane integrity and cellular contents spill into surrounding tissues , this causes inflammation
changes in the necrotic cell may take hours to be morphologically visible, however, certain chemicals released from the injured cell may be detectable in body fluids . Give examples
M.I. & cardiac specific enzymes
Give 4 morphological features of a necrotic cells
• Increased eosinophilia (the pink colour of the cytoplasm). This is due to loss of cytoplasmic RNA which binds hematoxylin.
• Increased glassy appearance due to the loss of glycogen particles.
• Vacuolated cytoplasm due to enzyme digested cytoplasmic
organelles.
• Myelin figures: from dead cell or organellar membranes. The myelin
figures may be phagocytosed by other cells or degraded into fatty acids. These fatty acids may become calcified leading to the calcification of dead cells.
What are the 6 patterns of organ necrosis
- Coagulative necrosis
- Liquefactive necrosis e.g. C.N.S.
- Gangrenous necrosis e.g. Foot gangrene
- Caseous necrosis e.g. TB
- Fat necrosis e.g. pancreatitis, breast
- Fibrinoid necrosis e.g. blood vessels
What’s the most common type of necrosis
Coagulative Necrosis
Describe the affected organ or tissue in coagulative necrosis
• Affected tissue are firm because the injury denatures the enzymes
and prevents proteolysis of dead cells..
• The dead cell is eventually cleared by phagocytosis or digestion from
leukocytic enzymes
What is An area of localised coagulative necrosis called
Infarct
Describe the microscopic appearance of affected organs in coagulative necrosis
the cells retain their outlines, however the cytoplasmic and nuclear details are lost . The affected cells are swollen and more eosinophilic than usual.
What is is called when cells retain their outlines, however the cytoplasmic and nuclear details are lost in coagulative necrosis
Tombstone’/’Ghost’ appearance
What also causes liquefactive necrosis
ischaemic injury, bacterial/fungal infections. Microbes stimulate the accumulation of leukocytes and subsequent release of hydrolytic enzymes
What’s the shape of a coagulative infarct
Wedge shaped (point Of occlusion of vessels$
What enzymes help in the liquefactive necrosis
The cellular hydrolytic enzymes play a dominant role in the digestion of the affected cells creating semi-fluid material.
Examples of organs that undergo liquefactive necrosis
brain infarcts (CVA/”stroke”) and abscess (pus) cavities
What causes gangrenous necrosis
results from superimposed bacterial infection on a tissue which has lost its blood supply (coagulative necrosis). The bacterialinfection leads to more liquefactive necrosis.
Examples of gangrenous necrosis
diabetic foot gangrene, frostbite gangrene
What necrosis is Cheese-like
Caseous necrosis
Where are Caseous necrosis characteristically found
Tuberculosis infections
Describe the morphology of caseous necrosis
• Grossly: soft, granular, yellowish.
• Microscopically: characteristic granuloma (epithelioid cells, giant cells and peripheral cuff of lymphocytes) with central area of necrosis
Describe the morphology of caseous necrosis
• Grossly: soft, granular, yellowish.
• Microscopically: characteristic granuloma (epithelioid cells, giant cells and
peripheral cuff of lymphocytes) with central area of necrosis
Where is caseous necrosis characteristically found
Tuberculosis infections
Describe the fat necrosis in pancreatitis
release of lipases from pancreatic acinar cells liquefy the membranes of adipocytes in the peritoneum. The released fatty acids can combine with calcium to form areas of saponification (chalk-white visible areas)
Describe fat necrosis in breast
seen with loss of blood supply to breast adipose tissue resulting in the death of the adipocytes and their digestion by macrophages. May mimic a carcinoma.
An example of Traumatic fat necrosis
Breast necrosis
Where is fibrinoid necrosis found
Seen in immune reactions involving blood vessels
What happens in fibrinoid necrosis
Deposition of Ab-Ag complexes on the blood vessel walls leading to
activation of immune reactions against the wall components. E.g. is
eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangitis.
What is apoptosis
programmed cell death. Literally suicide