Cellular respones to stress and toxic insults: adaptation, injury and death (Kumar Ch. 2, trans 1-2) Flashcards
What are the four aspects of a disease process that form the core of pathology?
- Cause (etiology)
- Biochemical and molecular mechanims of its development (pathogenesis)
- The structural alterations induced in the cells and organs of the body (morphologic changes)
- Functional consequences of these changes (clinical manifestations)
True or False
Virtually, all forms of disease start with molecular or structural alterations in cells
True
This refers to reversible functional and structural responses to changes in physiologic states and some pathologic stimuli
Adaptation
**Adaptations are reversible changes in the size, number, phenotype, metabolic activity, or functions of cells in response to changes in their environment
2 pathways of cell death
Necrosis and apoptosis
REMEMBER
Stresses of different types may induce changes in cells and tissues other than typical adaptations, cell injury, and death
Other processes that affect cells and tissues: intracellular accumulations, pathologic calcification, and cell aging
Refers to an increase in the size of cells, that results in an increase in the size of the affected organ
Hypertrophy
**The hypertrophied organ has no new cells, just larger cells
Increased functional demand or by stimulation by hormones and growth factors will lead to _____
physiologic hypertrophy
**The striated muscle cells in the heart and skeletal muscles have only a limited capacity for division, and respond to increased metabolic demands mainly by undergoing hypertrophy
REMEMBER
In molecular pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy:
There is an integrateed actions among
- mechanical sensors (triggered by increasing workload)
- growth factors (TGF-B, insulin-like growth factor 1, fibroblast growth factor)
- vasoactive agents (a-adrenergic agonists, endothelin-1 and angiotensin)
These signals originating in the cell membrane activate a complex web of signal transduction pathways
- Phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT pathway (postulated to be most important in physiologic, e.g., exercise-induced, hypertrophy)
- G-protein coupled receptors (induced by many growth factors and vasoactive agents, and thought to be more important in pathologic hypertrophy)
REMEMBER
Hypertrophy is also associated with a switch of contractile proteins from adult to fetal or neonatal forms
α isoform of myosin heavy chain is replaced by the β isoform, which has a slower, more energetically economical contraction.
REMEMBER
Cardiac hypertrophy is associated with increased atrial natriuretic factor gene expression.
Atrial natriuretic factor is a peptide hormone that causes salt secretion by the
kidney, decreases blood volume and pressure, and therefore serves to reduce hemodynamic load
Defined as an increase in the number of cells in an organ or tissue in response to a stimulus
Hyperplasia
**may occur together with hypertrophy in organs with cells capable of DIVIDING
REMEMBER
Examples of physiologic hyperplasia
1. proliferation of the glandular epithelium of the female breast at puberty and during pregnancy, usually accompanied by enlargement of glandular epithelial cells.
2. liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy
3. marrow hyperplasia in response to a deficiency of terminally differentiated blood cells
Physiologic hyperplasia due to the action of hormones or growth factors occurs in several circumstances: when there is a need to increase functional capacity of hormone sensitive organs; when there is need for compensatory increase after damage or resection
REMEMBER
Examples of pathologic hyperplasia
1. Endometrial hyperplasia
2. benign prostatic hyperplasia
Most forms of pathologic hyperplasia are caused by excessive or inappropriate actions of hormones or growth factors acting on target cells
REMEMBER
Although pathologic hyperplasias are abnormal, the process remains controlled and the hyperplasia regresses if the hormonal stimulation is eliminated
Pathologic hyperplasia is different from cancer, in that the growth control mechanisms in cancer become deregulated or ineffective because of genetic aberrations
**Thus, while hyperplasia is distinct from cancer, pathologic hyperplasia constitutes a fertile soil in which cancerous proliferations may eventually arise
Defined as a reduction in the size of an organ or tissue due to a decrease in cell size and number
Atrophy
**The degradation of cellular proteins occurs mainly by the ubiquitin proteasome pathway
It is a reversible change in which one differentiated cell type (epithelial or mesenchymal) is replaced by another cell type
Metaplasia
**It often represents an adaptive response in which one cell type that is sensitive to a particular stress is replaced by another cell type that is better able to withstand the adverse environment
REMEMBER
The most common epithelial metaplasia is columnar to squamous….
…as occurs in the respiratory tract in response to chronic irritation, stones in the excretory ducts of the salivary glands, pancreas, or bile ducts, which are normally lined by secretory columnar epithelium, may also lead to squamous metaplasia by stratified squamous epithelium
Barrett esophagus displays what type of metaplasia?
Metaplasia from squamous to columnar type
**the esophageal squamous epithelium is replaced by intestinal-like columnar cells under the influence of refluxed gastric acid
Type of metaplasia characterized by the formation of cartilage, bone or adipose tissue in tissues that normally do not contain these elements.
Connective tissue metaplasia
**myositis ossifcans - bone formation in muscle that occasionally occurs after intramuscular hemorrhage.
REMEMBER
Metaplasia does not result from a change in the phenotype of an already differentiated cell type…
…it is the result of a reprogramming of stem cells that are known to exist in normal tissues, or of undifferentiated mesenchymal cells present in connective tissue
What are the hallmarks of reversible injury?
- reduced oxidative phosphorylation with resultant depletion of energy stores in the form of adenosine triphosphate
- cellular swelling caused by changes in ion concentrations and water influx.
It is considered an “accidental” and unregulated form of cell death resulting from damage to cell membranes and loss of ion homeostasis
Necrosis
- *When damage to membranes is severe, lysosomal enzymes enter the cytoplasm and digest the cell
- *Cellular contents also leak through the damaged plasma membrane into the extracellular space, where they elicit a host reaction (inflammation)
REMEMBER
Necrosis = pathway of cell death resulting from ischemia, toxins, various infections and trauma
Apoptosis = pathway of cell death resulting from damaged DNA or proteins
Form of cell death that is characterized by NUCLEAR DISSOLUTION, FRAGMENTATION of the cell without complete loss of membrane integrity, and rapid removal of the cellular debris
Apoptosis
**Because cellular contents do not leak out, unlike in necrosis, there is no inflammatory reaction
REMEMBER
Necrosis is always PATHOLOGIC
Apoptosis serves many normal functions and is not necessarily associated with cell injury
Two features of reversible cell injury can be recognized under the light microscope:
Cellular swelling - appears whenever cells are incapable of maintaining ionic and fluid homeostasis and is the result of failure of energy-dependent ion pumps in the plasma membrane
Fatty change - occurs in hypoxic injury and various forms of toxic or metabolic injury
It is the first manifestation of almost all forms of injury to cells
Cellular swelling
True or False
Cellular swelling is easy to appreciate with the light microscope
False
**It is a difficult morphologic change to appreciate with the light microscope; it may be more apparent at the level of the whole organ. When it affects many cells, it causes some pallor, increased turgor, and increase in weight of the organ
This pattern of nonlethal injury can be seen on microscopic examination as small clear vacuoles within the cytoplasm
Hydrophobic change or vacuolar degeneration
**these represent distended and pinched-off segments of the ER
Ultrastrucutral changes of reversible cell injury
- Plasma membrane alterations, such as blebbing, blunting, and loss of microvilli
- Mitochondrial changes, including swelling and the appearance of small amorphous densities
- Dilation of the ER, with detachment of polysomes; intracytoplasmic myelin figures may be present
- Nuclear alterations, with disaggregation of granular and fibrillar elements
REMEMBER
Necrotic cells show increased eosinophilia in hematoxylin and eosin (H & E) stains
This is attributable in part to the loss of cytoplasmic RNA (which binds the blue dye, hematoxylin) and in part to denatured cytoplasmic proteins (which bind the red dye, eosin)
REMEMBER
The necrotic cell may have a more glassy homogeneous appearance than do normal cells…
…mainly as a result of the loss of glycogen particles
Nuclear changes appear in one of three patterns, all due to nonspecific breakdown of DNA
- Karyolysis
- Pyknosis
- Karyorrhexis
In this type of nuclear change, the basophilia of the chromatin may fade, a change that presumably reflects loss of DNA because of enzymatic degradation by endonucleases
Karyolysis
Characterized by nuclear shrinkage and increased basophilia. Here the chromatin condenses into a solid, shrunken basophilic mass
Pyknosis
**also seen in apoptotic cell death
In this patter of nuclear change the pyknotic nucleus undergoes fragmentation. With the passage of time (a day or two), the nucleus in the necrotic cell totally disappears
Karyorrhexis
A form of necrosis in which the architecture of dead tissues is preserved for a span of at least some days. The affected tissues exhibit a firm texture.
Coagulative necrosis
**the injury denatures not only structural proteins but also enzymes and so blocks the proteolysis of the dead cells; as a result, eosinophilic, anucleate cells may persist for days or weeks
Characterized by digestion of the dead cells, resulting in transformation of the tissue into a liquid viscous mass
Liquefactive necrosis
This term is usually applied to a limb, generally the lower leg, that has lost its blood supply and has undergone necrosis (typically coagulative necrosis) involving multiple tissue planes
Gangrenous necrosis
**When bacterial infection is superimposed there is more liquefactive necrosis because of the actions of degradative enzymes in the bacteria and the attracted leukocytes (giving rise to so-called wet gangrene)
This type of necrosis is encountered most often in foci of tuberculous infection.
Caseous necrosis
- *The term “caseous” (cheeselike) is derived from the friable white appearance of the area of necrosis
- *On microscopic examination, the necrotic area appears as a structureless collection of fragmented or lysed cells and amorphous granular debris enclosed within a distinctive inflammatory border; this appearance is characteristic of a focus of inflammation known as a granuloma
It refers to focal areas of fat destruction, typically resulting from release of activated pancreatic lipases into the substance of the pancreas and the peritoneal cavity
Fat necrosis
A special form of necrosis usually seen in immune reactions involving blood vessels. This pattern of necrosis typically occurs when complexes of antigens and antibodies are deposited in the walls of arteries
Fibrinoid necrosis
REMEMBER
Mitochondrial damage can be caused by:
1. Decrease ATP
2 Increase ROS
Decrease ATP = multiple downstream effects
Increase ROS = damage to lipids, proteins, DNA
In the biochemical mechanism of cell injury, ENTRY of calcium leads to? (2)
Increase mitochondrial permeability and activation of multiple cellular enzymes
REMEMBER
ATP depletion and decreased ATP synthesis are frequently associated with both hypoxic and chemical (toxic) injury
The major causes of ATP depletion are reduced supply of oxygen and nutrients, mitochondrial damage, and the actions of some toxins (e.g., cyanide)
What are the functional and morphologic consequences of decreased intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) during cell injury?
- Decreased Na pump -> increase influx of calcium, H2O and Na -> efflux of K - > ER swelling, loss of microvilli and surface blebs
- Increased Anaerobic glycolysis -> decreased glycogen and increased lactic acid -> decreased pH -> clumping of nuclear chromatin
- Detachment of ribosomes -> decreased protein synthesis
REMEMBER
The mitochondria sequester between their outer and inner membranes several proteins that are capable of activating apoptotic pathways; these include cytochrome c and proteins that indirectly activate apoptosis inducing enzymes called caspases
Increased permeability of the outer mitochondrial membrane may result in leakage of these proteins into the cytosol and death by apoptosis