Chronic Inflammation Flashcards
What is chronic inflammation?
Chronic response to injury with associated fibrosis
Longer and more variable, less known about it than acute, overlap with host immunity
What are the two types of insults that result in chronic inflammation?
Chronic and acute
How does chronic inflammation arise?
- take over from acutes inflammation (if damage is too severe to be resolved within a few days)
- arise de novo: autoimmune conditions (rheumatoid arthritis), chronic infection (viral hep), ‘chronic low-level irritation’
- alongside acute acute inflammation (in severe persistent or repeated irritation)
What does chronic inflammation look like?
Defined by the cells present:
- macrophages
- lymphocytes ***
The mononuclear cells are the predominant cell type (macrophages and lymphocytes)
What are the cell types most commonly found in chronic inflammation?
Macrophages Lymphocytes Plasma cells Eosinophils Fibroblast/myofibroblasts
Discuss macrophages:
What from?
When important?
Functions? (7)
What from: derived from monocytes made in bone barrow (in the blood)-become macrophages (/histiocytes) in the tissue spaces
Importance: v important in acute and chronic inflammation
Functions: phagocytosis of debris and bacteria, Antigen presenting (initiation of immune response), stimulating angiogenesis, synthesis of cytokines, blood clotting factors and proteases, control other cells by cytokines release, inducing fibrosis
What do macrophages synthesis?
Cytokines, complement components, blood clotting factors and proteases
How do macrophages control other cells?
By their release of cytokines
Discuss lymphocytes:
Microscopic appearance?
Other names?
Functions? (4)
Microscopic appearance: small blue dots- large nucleus and little cytoplasm
Other names: chronic inflammatory cells
Functions: immunological-processing antigens, B lymphocytes differentiate to plasma cells and produce antibodies, T lymphocytes involved in control and some cytotoxic functions, killing cells (NK cells)
Where are B lymphocytes produced and what do they do?
Mature in bone marrow
Differentiate into plasma cells which produce antibodies
Where are T lymphocytes produced and what do they do?
Produced in bone marrow, mature in thymus
Varied in cellular functions (controlling immune reactions) and cytotoxic functions (killing cells)
What are plasma cells?
Why do they indicate chronic inflammation and what do they look like microscopically?
Differentiated antibody-producing B lymphocytes
They take a while to be produced so their presence suggests that the inflammation is long term
Open nucleus- clot phase-lots of chromatin around nucleus, cytoplasm is visible, large GA
Eosinophils:
When are they present?
What do they do?
What do they look like microscopically?
Present for v specific stimuli eg allergic reaction/parasite infestation/some tumours
Attach large parasites
Bi lope nucleus- (sun burnt face with shades on)
Why are fibroblast/myofibroblasts present in a chronic inflammatory response?
What to they do?
Because they’re recruited for by macrophages,
Fibroblasts produce C.T (collagen, elastin and glucosaminoglycans), differentiate into myofibroblasts- contractile cells
What is a giant cell?
Multinucleated cells made by fusion of macrophages happens because of frustrated phagocytosis
(If they cant deal with something alone, they fuse to make something bigger)
Seen in granulomatous inflammation
List some types of giant cells and what they fight (3)
Langhans->TB
Foreign body type-> foreign bodies
Touton-> fat necrosis
Describe the microscopic appearance of a langhans type giant cell, what do these cells fight?
Horse shoe nuclei around peripheral
TB (because TB is hard to get rid of)
What do foreign body type giant cells look like microscopically?
Not very organised, multiple irregular aggregates of nuclei (around outside?), blue-ish stuff in the middle=foreign body (exogenous/endogenous)
If the foreign body is small it is phagocytise by the giant cell and can be seen within it. If it is large the foreign body giant cell sticks to its surface
What does a Touton giant cell look like microscopically? And what it is involved in?
Nicely organised centre-multi nuclei, folded cytoplasm, accumulates a lot of fat (bubbles)
Involved in Fat Necrosis and xanthomas
Form in lesions where there is a high lipid content (such lesions will also contain cells called foam cells which are simply macrophages whose cytoplasm appears foamy as the have phagocytised a lot of lipid
Morphology of most chronic inflammatory
reactions is non-specific, BUT proportions of
each cell type may vary in different
conditions. Giant cell types are also helpful in diagnosis. What cell is most abundant in the following conditions:
Rheumatoid arthritis
Chronic gastritis
Leishmaniasis (a protozoan infection)
Rheumatoid arthritis-mainly plasma cells
Chronic gastritis- mainly lymphocytes
Leishmaniasis- mainly macrophages