Connective Tissue Flashcards
T or F: Leukocytes from the blood become active once in the CT
T
What are the four functions of CT?
Structural support, medium for exchange, aid in defense and protection of the body, and site of fat storage.
Embryonic CT is composed of what?
Mesenchyme (mostly fibroblasts, source of progenitor cells), mucous CT which sits below the surface of skin and helps in cell development. Wharton’s Jelly, a very watery fluid in the umbilical cord
What is CT mesenchyme?
Mostly fibroblasts and the source of CT progenitor cells
What are the five types of CT proper?
Loose (areolar), Dense irregular, Dense regular, Reticular, and Adipose
How is CT proper type defined?
The density of connective tissue fibers
What are specialized CT?
Cartilage, bone, blood (hemopoietic and lymphatic tissue)
Where is dense irregular CT found?
Dermis of skin, sheaths of nerve, capsules of spleen, kidney, lymph nodes, testes, and ovaries
Where is dense regular CT found?
Tendons and ligaments
Where is loose irregular CT found?
Fills spaces just deep to skin, mesothelial lining of body cavity, blood vessels adventitia, surrounds parenchyma of glands, lamina propria of GI tract
What are the two general components of CT organization?
ECM and cells
What composes the ECM of CT?
Ground substance (no stain) and fibers (synthesized by fibroblasts)
What are the two types of CT cells?
Fixed/Resident (fibroblasts and adipocytes) and Transient/wandering (Macrophages of plasma cells that come from elsewhere e.g. blood)
What are the three major components of the ground substance?
Glycosaminoglycans, Proteoglycans, Glycoproteins
T or F: The fibers in the ground substance are visible in LM
F
What are GAGs?
Polysaccharides of repeating disaccharide subunits
What type of GAGs are in the CT ground substance?
Sulfated…e.g. keratin, chondroitin, and dermatan sulfate and unsulfated…e.g. hyaluronic acid
What is the function of GAGs in the CT ground substance?
Attracts water and resists compression (attracts water via its negative charge by attracting sodium)
What is the function of hyaluronic acid in the ground substance of CT?
Long chain, very large to make backbones for proteoglycan attachement, non-sulfated
What are proteoglycans?
Protein core with covalently bound sulfated GAGs
What is the function of PG in the CT ground substance?
Important for binding and activation of growth factors
What type of glycoproteins are in the ground substance of CT?
Fibronectin, laminin, and entactin
What is the function of glycoprotein in the ground substance of CT?
Contains domains for the components of ECM and integrins to bind, important for transport
What are the three types of CT fibers?
Collagen, reticular, elastic
T or F: Collagen fibers are visible in LM
T
What are the characteristics/function of collagen fiber in CT?
Major fibrous protein of CT and is flexible with extremely high tensile strength
What is the approximate size of collagen fibers?
Less than 10 microns in diameter with wavy structure that stains pink in H&E
Describe the structure of collagen fibers
Formed by an assembly of tropocollagen molecules. Each tropocollagen molecule is made up of a triple helix of 3 alpha-chains (alpha-chain subunits give the collagen its characteristics)
T or F: Every third AA in tropocollagen is glycine
T
What are the major AA of tropocollagen?
Proline, hydroxyproline, hydroxylysine, and glycine
What gives collagen its banding pattern?
Gap regions due to periodic gaps of the tropocollagen which lead to light (less dense) and dark bands
General CT, tendon, bone, ligament, and capsules or organs is covered by what type of collagen?
Type I
Morphology of Type I collagen
Large banded collagen fiber
What is the function of Type I collagen?
Resists tension (very strong)
What is Type II collagen?
Small banded collagen fiber that makes up hyaline and elastic cartilage and is in the vitreous of the eye
What is the function of Type II collagen?
Resists pressure
What is Type III collagen?
Small banded collagen fiber that makes up lymphoid tissue, bone marrow, spleen, liver, lung, cardiovascular system, and skin
What is the function of Type III collagen?
Forms a structural framework
What is Type IV collagen?
Sheet-like layers that make up the basement membrane and basal lamina
What is the function of Type IV collagen?
Forms meshwork of lamina densa and provides support and filtration function
What is Type V collagen?
Thin fibrils that make up the dermis, tendon, bone ligament, capsules of oran, and placenta
What is the function of Type V collagen?
Associates with Type I collagen, placental ground substance
What is Type VII collagen?
Thin fibrils that serve as the junction between the epidermis and dermis