Chronic Inflammation Flashcards
What is chronic inflammation characterized by?
– Accumulation of lymphocytes and macrophages
– Proliferating blood vessels
– Formation of connective tissue
What cell type is predominant in chronic inflammation?
Macrophages
What are some possible causes of chronic inflammation?
- inability to eradicate pathogen due to drug resistance or it being intracellular
- persistent exposure to an auto-Ag that cannot be eliminated
What cell type dominates acute inflammation?
Neutrophils
What is the effect of chronic high levels of inflammatory cytokines on the liver?
Increased rates of hepatic production of defense proteins which will lead to decreased albumin production.
What is the function of hepcidin?
Hepcidin regulates iron and causes decreased availability to the bone marrow as well as bacteria.
What is a granuloma?
Characteristic inflammation with microbes that are immune to intracellular killing mechanisms (TB) that forms a caseous center surrounded by macrophages to wall it off
What can prolonged increased hepcidin cause?
Anemia
What is the function of C-Reactive Protein (CRP)?
IT is linked to IL-6 and indicates an inflammatory response
What can give a false CRP positive?
Obesity
What is the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)?
Inflammation will increase IgG and fibrinogen which causes RBCs to fall rapidly in a column of plasma
What is leukopenia?
Decrease in WBCs in the blood
What is leukemia reaction?
Increased WBCs in response to stress/infection