Human Pathology Cell Adaptation and Injury Flashcards
Class Notes
Pathology
Studies the structural and functional changes in cells, tissues and organs that underlie disease states.
Etiology
The cause of the disease such as genetics or environmental factors
Pathogenesis
The mechanism of the development of the disease
Morphology
Structural alterations in cells and tissues due to the disease process
Clinical Signs and Symptoms
Functional consequences of the morphologic changes
How do cells react to adverse influences?
Adapting
Sustaining Reversible Injury
Suffering Irreversible Injury
What are the causes of cellular injury?
oxygen deprivation physical agents chemical agents infectious agents immunologic agents genetic mutations nutrition deficiency
What is a reversible injury to a cell?
The stage of injury at which the deranged function and morphology of the injured cells can return to normal if the damaging stimulus is removed.
What is the hallmark of cellular injury?
Cell swelling
What is cell swelling associated with?
Increased permeability of the cell
The appearance of triglyceride containing lipid vacuoles in the cytoplasm
Fatty Change
What is the hint that a cell is undergoing necrosis?
fragmentation of the cell
What happens to the color of the cytoplasm when a cell is injured?
It is eosinophilic or pink
What are the morphologic changes in reversible cell injury?
Pink cytoplasm
Blebbing of the cell membrane
Distortion of microvilli
Loosening of cellular attachments
Mitochondrial changes
Dilation of the ER with detachment of ribosomes
Chromatin clumping within the nucleus
Myelin figures which are phospholipids arise from damage to cell membrane
What are the principal adaptive responses of the cell under stress?
hypertrophy
hyperplasia
metaplasia
atrophy
hypertrophy
an increase in the size of the individual cells and ultimately the tissue.
It usually occurs in the cells that have a limited capacity to divide or replicate
What happens to a cell to cause a myocardial infarction?
Cell death of the myocyte
Can injury affect only morphology of a cell?
No, it can affect both the morphology and the function of a cell. A cell may look normal after a reversible injury but it can lack normal function.
Reversible Changes are known as …
Adaptations
Endogenous Chemical Mediator
A protein located within the cell ( intracellular) that enhance and activate the functions of other proteins.
Physiologic Adaptations
Responses of cells to normal stimulus
Pathological Adaptations
Responses to stress that allow cells to modulate their structure and function
What causes hypertrophy?
An increase in the functional demand of the organ or stimulation by a Growth Factor
Can hypertrophy and hyperplasia occur together?
Yes, like in the uterus during pregnancy
Trophic Triggers
Soluble mediators that stimulate cell growth such as growth factors and andregenic hormones which turn on genes that create proteins and filaments
Hyperplasia
The increase in the number of cells. Usually occur in cells that are capable of replication
Compensatory Hyperplasia
Residual tissue grows after the removal or loss of part of the organ.
Example:
Liver
Excessive hormonal or growth factor stimulation can lead to what pathological condition
pathologic hyperplasia.
A disturbance in the balance between stimulation of the growth factors and inhibition of the growth factors results in pathologic hyperplasia
Normal regulation of the mechanisms that control normal hyperplasia must be balanced.
What cells contribute to the creation of growth factors during repair?
leukocytes that respond to cellular injury in the extracellular matrix.
Can viruses contribute to hyperplasia?
Yes, because viruses contain their own growth factor to produce warts and lesions. The growth factors are encoded in viral genes.
What type of cell adaptation is commonly known to lead to cancer?
hyperplasia
Atrophy
Shrinkage in the size of a cell by the loss of the cell’s substance. The size and function is diminished.
What are the causes of atrophy?
decreased workload immobilization of a limb loss of innervation reduced blood supply loss of endocrine stimulation aging pressure malnutrition protein degredation reduction in protein synthesis
Decreased protein synthesis and increased protein degradation can lead to what kind of cell adaptation?
Atrophy
Why would protein synthesis decrease within a cell?
Due to decrease in metabolic activity.
Due to decrease in nutrition
Defective Ribosomes
What is the main pathway to cause protein degradation?
Ubiquitin- Proteasome Pathway which is activated by nutrient deficiency and disuse.
Ubiquitin tags the proteins to target for degredation by proteasomes.
What molecule degrades proteins?
Proteasomes recognize ubiquitin tag.
Autophagy
Self eating in which the starved cell eats its own components in an attempt to survive.
Metaplasia
A reversible change in which one adult cell type such as epithelial or mesenchymal is replaced by another adult cell type.
Cause stem cells to reprogram or differentiate down another pathway.
What type of metaplasia is common among people who smoke?
Epithelial metaplasia in which the normal ciliated columnar cells of the trachea and respiratory tract become stratified squamous epithelium. The new stratified squamous epithelium may be able to survive the exposure to nicotine better than the ciliated columnar epithelium.
Although this epithelium can survive more, a lot of protective mechanisms are lost such as mucus secretion and ciliary clearance of particulate matter.
What vitamin is critical for normal epithelial differentiation?
Vitamin A
What is the difference in the size of a cell when it undergoes apoptosis versus necrosis?
Apoptosis = shrinkage of the cell Necrosis= cell swelling
Which type of cell death is followed by inflammation?
necrosis
Apoptosis results in pyknosis?
True or False
False.
Necrosis
The cell membrane is disrupted in necrosis.
True or False
True
Enzymatic digestion and leakage of cellular contents follows apoptosis.
True or False
False.
Necrosis
What happens to chromatin during apoptosis?
It condenses
What is released in apoptosis?
Apoptotic bodies that are swallowed by phagosome
Oxygen deficiency is responsible for this condition
hypoxia
The loss of blood supply
ischemia
Carbon Monoxide has a higher affinity for Hb than oxygen.
True or False
True
Can hypoxia arise from a lack of oxygen in the blood?
Yes, if there is less oxygen bound to hemoglobin such as in pneumonia.
Can an excess of water, salt or glucose cause cellular injury?
Yes
How do poisons damage cells?
By altering the cell permeability and osmotic homeostasis
Is too much oxygen harmful to cells?
Yes
Can immunity affect cell injury?
Yes by autoimmune response
How does genetics create cellular injury?
Through a lack of genes needed to make certain proteins and misfolding of proteins.
How does nutrition affect cell injury?
Through the low protein calorie deficiency and diets too rich in fat can cause arthsclerosis.
What are the main two phenomena that characterize a cell’s status as being irreversibly injured?
Inability to correct mitochondrial dysfunction which leads to a lack of oxidative phosphorylation.
Depletion of the production of ATP
What are the two morphological changes that correlate with a reversible injury to a cell?
Cell swelling due to sodium / potassium pumps failure. Water follows sodium
Fatty change which is characterized by the appearance of small or large lipid vacoules in the cytoplasm.
What are intracellular changes associated with reversible cellular injury?
- plasma membrane alterations such as blebbing, blunting or distortion of microvilli and loosening of intercellular attachments.
- Mitochondria swelling
- Dilation of the ER and detachment of ribosomes
- Clumping of chromatin
- Presence of myelin figures. Myelin figures are more prevalent in the cell during reversible injury