ICS Flashcards
what is inflammation?
It is hard to define a reaction to injury or infection that involves neutrophils and macrophages.
When can inflammation be good?
Infection and injury
When is inflammation bad?
- Autoimmunity
- When there is over-reaction to a stimulus
How is inflammation classified?
- Acute
- Chronic
What is acute inflammation clasifed by?
- Sudden onset
-Short duration - Usually resolves
Example appendicitis
What are the cells involved in Inflammation
- Neutrophils
- Macrophages
- Lymphocytes
- Endothelial cells
- Fibroblasts
What are neutrophil polymorphs?
They are short lived cells that are first on the scene of acute inflammation
They contain cytoplasmic granules that are full of enzymes used to kill bacteria.
They will usually die at the site of an infection but release chemicals to signal other inflammatory cells such as macrophages
What are macrophages?
They are long lived cells (weeks to months) that have phagocytic properties.
They ingest bacteria and debris and carry them away
Can present antigens to lymphocytes
What are Lymphocytes?
Longest living cells involved (years)
They produce chemicals which will attract other inflammatory cells, they have memory for past infections and antigens
What are endothelial cells?
They line capillary blood vessels in areas of inflammation
How are endothelial cells involved in inflammation
They become sticky in areas of inflammation so cells like macrophages and neutrophils stick to them
They become more porous to allow cells to flow in
They grow into areas of damage to form capillaries so more cells can get to area
What do fibroblasts do in acute inflammation?
Long lived cells
Form collagen in areas of chronic inflammation and repair.
What are the steps of acute inflammation
- Initial reaction of tissue to injury
- Vascular component-dilation of vessels
- Exudative component- vascular leakage of protein rich fluid
- Cellular exudate
What are causes of acute inflammation?
- microbial infections e.g., pyogenic bacteria, viruses
- Hypersensitivity reaction e.g., TB, parasites, allergens
- Physical agents e.g., physical trauma, ionising radiation, heat
- Chemicals
- Bacterial toxins
- Tissue necrosis
Macroscopic appearances of acute inflammation
Rubor- redness due to dilation of small blood vessels
Calor- increase in skin temperature, due to increased blood flow and vascular dilation. Also, fever
Tumor- swelling results from fluid from exudate accumulating in extravascular space
Dolor- Pain
Reduced function
What are the outcomes of inflammation?
- Resolution
- Suppuration
- Organisation
- Progression to chronic inflammation
What is resolution?
The problem goes away
What us suppuration?
Pus formation
What is organisation?
There is healing by fibrosis (scar formation) when there is substantial damage lack of ability for the cells to regenerate.
Dead tissue and inflammatory exudate are removed from the area
Defect becomes filled with specialised vascular growth tissue
What happens in the early stages of acute inflammation?
Oedema fluid, fibrin and neutrophil polymorphs accumulate in the extracellular spaces of damaged tissue. The presence of the cellular component (neutrophil polymorph) is essential to the diagnosis.
What is the acute inflammatory response process?
- Changes in vessel calibre and increased vessel flow
- Increased vascular permeability and formation of fluid exudate (cells leaking out of blood vessels into surrounding tissue)
- Formation of cellular exudate- emigration of NP’s into EV space
How is blood flow regulated in inflammation?
By smooth muscle at precapillary sphincters ,in acute inflammation they relax which increases blood flow
Why does fluid accumulate in inflammation?
Increased capillary hydrostatic pressure forces more fluid out at aretiloar end and also forces proteins out which reduces oncotic pressure so less fluid is absorbed in the venous end
What causes the increased vascular permeablity?
- Immediate transient-chemical mediators, e.g. histamine, NO, C5a
- Immediate sustained- severe direct vascular injury
- Delayed prolonged- endothelial injury
What are the four stages of neutrophil polymorphs accumulation?
- Margination of neutrophils- increase in plasma viscosity due to fluid loss means NP flow closer to endothelial cells
- Adhesion of neutrophils- the NP adhere to endothelial cells process known as pavementing
- Neutrophil emigration- cells leave through the gap created between the endothelial cells
- Diapedsis- Red blood cells also may escape, the presence of a large number of RBCs mean severe vascular injury
What are the four stages of neutrophil polymorph accumulation?
- Margination of neutrophils- increase in plasma viscosity due to fluid loss means NP flow closer to endothelial cells
- Adhesion of neutrophils- the NP adhere to endothelial cells process known as pavementing
- Neutrophil emigration- cells leave through the gap created between the endothelial cells
- Diapedesis- Red blood cells also may escape, the presence of a large number of RBCs means severe vascular injury
What cells are the main source of histamine?
Mast cells (basophils, eosinophils and platelets)
What is the role of the lymphatic system in acute inflammation?
Lymphatics channels become dilated and drain away the inflammatory exudate, this limits the extent of oedema in tissues. Antigens carried to lymph nodes for recognition by lymphocytes.
What is chronic inflammation classified by?
- slow onset or sequel to acute an inflammatory process in which lymphocytes, plasma cells and macrophages predominate
- Long duration
- may never resolve
Example TB
Give 4 causes of chronic inflammation.
- Primary chronic inflammation.
- Transplant rejection.
- Recurrent acute inflammation.
- Progression from acute inflammation.`
Is chronic inflammation usually primary or following on from acute?
Usually primary
What are causes of primary chronic inflammation?
- Resistance of ineffective agent to phagocytosis and intracellular killing e.g., TB Leprosy
- Endogenous, necrotic adipose tissue, uric crystals
- Exogenous materials e.g., Asbestos fibres, suture fibres
- Autoimmune disease
- Diseases such as Crohn’s and sarcoidosis
- Transplant rejection
What are the macroscopic appearances of chronic inflammation?
- Chronic ulcer
- Chronic abscess cavity
- Thickening of hollow organ cavity
- Fibrosis
What do b lymphocytes do in chronic inflammation?
They are in contact with the antigens and become transformed into plasma cells
What is the role of T lymphocytes in chronic inflammation
They are responsible for cell mediated immunity. Thye produce cytokines which recruit and activate other cells
What is the role of macrophages?
They ingest a wide range of materials and being long living they can harbour organisms for a long time e.g., mycobacterium tuberculosis and leprae. This can result in delayed hypersensitivity reaction.
What is a granuloma?
An aggregate of epithelioid histocytes
What are the causes of chronic inflammation?
- Primary chronic inflammation.
- Transplant rejection.
- Recurrent acute inflammation.
- Progression from acute inflammation.
What are examples of granuloma causing diseases?
TB, leprosy, Crohn’s and sarcoidosis
What cell can form when several macrophages try to ingest the same particle?
Multinucleate giant cell.
What is the difference between resolution and repair?
Resolution is when the initiating factor is removed, and the tissue is able to regenerate. In repair, the initiating factor is still present, and the tissue is unable to regenerate.
Name 5 types of cells capable of regeneration
- Hepatocytes.
- Osteocytes.
- Pneumocytes.
- Blood cells.
- Gut and skin epithelial cells.
Name 2 types of cells that are incapable of regeneration.
- Myocardial cells.
- Neuronal cells.
What is a thrombosis?
The solidification of blood contents that forms within the vascular system during life (clot is outside the vascular system/after death)
What prevents thrombosis from forming all the time?
-Laminar flow, cells flow through the middle of vessels and don’t touch the side
- Endothelial cells aren’t sticky when healthy
What cells are platelets derived from?
Megakaryocytes
What do platelets contain?
Alpha granules and dense granules
When are platelets activated?
When they come into contact with collagen, they release their granules
What processes result in thrombus formation?
-Platelet aggregation they release chemicals which cause them to stick to each other- is a positive feedback loop so hard to stop.
-Fibrin makes a mesh between platelets preventing RBCs from escaping
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What three main factors are thrombosis formed by (Virchow’s triad)?
- Change in vessel wall
- Changes in blood flow
- Changes in blood constituents
Not all three factors are needed and any one of them may result in thrombosis. Usually, a combination though
What are the two types of thrombosis?
Arterial and venous
What causes an arterial thrombus to form?
Usually through the formation of an atheromatous plague-result in changes to blood flow and vessel wall
Describe the process of arterial thrombus formation
- Plaque results in raised streak on vessel surface
- This plaque will grow and cause turbulent blood flow
- This causes a loss in intima cells and exposes the plaque to platelets
- The turbulence results in fibrin deposition and platelet clumping and they will settle on exposed collagen- this will form first layer of the thrombus
- This structure will now protrude further into the vessel and cause further turbulence to blood flow
- Thrombi will continue to grow, they will grow in the direction of blood flow propagation
What can an arterial thrombus lead to?
Can lead to MI/stroke
What is the treatment for an arterial thrombus?
Anti-platelets e.g., aspirin
Where do most venous thrombi begin?
At valves
Why is venous thrombosis most likely to occur at valves
As they protrude into the vessel lumen and cause turbulence
When is venous thrombosis most likely to occur?
- When there is a fall in blood pressure after surgery or after MI as flow is slower through the vessels.
- During normal flow (laminar) the blood cells are kept away from damaged valves or diseased walls
What else can result in venous thrombosis?
Venous return from the legs is very reliant upon calf contraction and relaxation this massages the veins and return blood towards the heart.
- So, during periods of immobilisation DVT’s are more likely to occur
What can a venous thrombus lead to?
A deep vein thrombosis/pulmonary embolism
What is the treatment for a venous thrombus?
An anti-coagulant e.g., warfarin
What are the clinical effects of Arterial thrombosis?
-Loss of pulse distal to the thrombus
- Area becomes cold, pale and painful
- Eventually tissue will die and become gangrenous
What are the clinical effects of venous thrombosis?
- Area will become tender due to developing ischaemia
- Area will become reddened as blood will continue to flow the tissue but can’t be drained away
- Area will become swollen
What are the 4 fates of thrombi
- Best case scenario- Resolution
- Organisation- macrophages clear way thrombus and fibroblasts replace it with collagen results in slight narrowing of lumen
- Recanalization- small capillaries grow into thrombus and fuse to form larger vessels this will allow blood to flow again via a different route
- Embolism- fragments break off and enter the circulation
A thrombus can also cause death by effecting a vital centre before the body or clinicians can make an intervention
What is an embolism?
A mass of material in the vascular system able to lodge in a vessel and block its lumen
What is the most common cause of an embolism?
A thrombus e.g., a DVT of the leg breaks off and embolises through the large veins and into the ride side of heart or lungs
What happens to an arterial embolism?
- It can travel anywhere downstream of its entry point
- Mural thrombi in the left ventricle can go anywhere
- Cholesterol crystals from an atheromatous plaque in the descending aorta can go to any lower limb/renal artery
What are the casues of an arterial embolism?
- Most of the thrombi that result in a systemic embolism originate from the heart or an atheromatous plaque
- In the heart thrombi may occur as a result of MI which will damage the endothelial lining of the cardiac muscle and expose the collagen to circulating platelets
- Another common cause of thrombosis is AF the ineffectual movement of blood will cause it to stagnate and form a thrombus
What are the causes of an arterial embolism?
- Most of the thrombi that result in a systemic embolism originate from the heart or an atheromatous plaque
- In the heart thrombi may occur as a result of MI which will damage the endothelial lining of the cardiac muscle and expose the collagen to circulating platelets
- Another common cause of thrombosis is AF the ineffectual movement of blood will cause it to stagnate and form a thrombus
What are the effects of a small venous emboli?
- They may go unnoticed (lysed in the lungs)
- Can cause idiopathic pulmonary hypertension as it becomes organised and over time damages the lungs
What are the effects of a large venous emboli?
- Can result in acute respiratory or cardiac problems that may resolve slowly with or without treatment
- Symptoms are chest pain and shortness of breath
- Lung function will be impaired after recovery and higher risk of future embolism
What are the effects of a massive emboli?
- Sudden death
- Usually derived from long thrombi in legs
- Often impair the bifurcation of the pulmonary arteries
What is ischaemia?
The reduction in blood flow to a tissue caused by constriction or blockage of the blood vessels supplying it
What areas are most vulnerable to ischaemia?
Cardiomyocytes and cerebral neurons (attacks are brief are effects are reversible)
What is infarction?
The necrosis of part of the whole of an organ that occurs when the artery supplying it becomes obstructed
What type of event is an infarction?
Usually, a macroscopic event caused by thrombosis
Why are most organs susceptible to infarction?
Thye only have one artery which supplies them so if there is a blockage in that artery, they will become infarcted
Which organs have dual blood supply and thus are less likely to be infarcted?
- Liver- portal vein and hepatic artery
- Lung- pulmonary venous and bronchial artery
- Brain- the circle of willis has multiple artery supplies
What is a reperfusion injury?
Most of the damage in an area occurs when blood flow is returned as the damage is oxygen dependant
What is gangrene?
When whole areas if a limb or region of the gut have their arterial supply cut off and large areas if mixed tissue die in bulk
What are the two types of gangrene?
- Dry gangrene where tissue becomes mummified, and healing occurs above it. This area will drop off
- Wet gangrene due to bacterial infection gangrene spreads proximally and patient will die from sepsis
What is atherosclerosis?
The formation of atherosclerotic plaques in the intima of large and medium-sized arteries e.g. coronary arteries
What can atherosclerosis cause?
Often can be asymptomatic
But can cause life-threatening damage is a thrombus is formed from a disrupted plaque
- Cerebral infarction
- Carotid atheroma leading to TIA’s
- MI
- Aortic aneurysm
- Peripheral vascular disease
- Gangrene
In what vessels does atherosclerosis occur?
Systemic not pulmonary due to the highger presuure
How do atherosclerotic plaques form?
- High levels of LDL in the blood will accumulate on the arterial wall
- Endothelial cell dysfunction (lots of cholesterol damages cell walls, also nicotine and carbon monoxide)
- Macrophages are attracted to the site of damage and take up lipids to form foam cells
- The activated macrophages will release growth factors and cytokines
- This will form a fatty streak
- There will be smooth muscle proliferation around the lipid core, and this will form a fibrous cap that could occlude blood flow
- This process will continue until artery becomes fully occulded.
What are the risk factors for atherosclerosis?
- Hypercholesterolemia
- Smoking
- Hypertension
- Diabetes
- Male sex
- Increasing age
What is apoptosis?
A physiological cellular process in which a defined and programmed sequence of intracellular events leads to the removal of a cell without the release of products harmful to surrounding cells
What process does apoptosis work alongside?
- Apoptosis is essentially programmed cells death
- Works alongside mitosis to ensure a continuous renewal of cells enabling tissue to be more adaptable to environmental demands
What are the characteristics of apoptosis?
- Energy dependant
- Involves enzymatic digestion of nuclear and cytoplasmic contents
- Phagocytosis of resultant breakdown products still retained within the cell membrane
Where is apoptosis common?
In the gut/duodenum, where cells are regularly replcaed
What diseases is poorly regulated apoptosis implicated in?
- Defective apoptosis is important ion neoplasia, i.e cancer, whereby there is a lack of apoptosis resulting in cells living longer
- Disturbances in apoptosis, i.e AIDS, Neurodegenerative disorders and anaemia of chronic disorders`
List the 4 inhibitors of apoptosis
- Growth factors
- Extracellular cell matrix
- Sex steroids
- Some viral proteins
List the 8 inducers of apoptosis
-Growth factor withdrawal
- Loss of matrix attachment
- Glucocorticoids
- Some viruses
- Free radicals
- Ionising radiation
- DNA damage
- Ligand binding at death receptors
What are the two main apoptosis pathways?
Extrinsic and intrinsic (both converge upon a final common effector pathway characterised by the activation of proteases and DNAses)
Describe the intrinsic apoptosis pathway
- Uses the pro/anti-apoptotic members of the BCL-2 family
- BCL-2 can inhibit many factors that induce apoptosis vs Bax, which forms Bax-Bax dimers which enhance apoptotic stimuli
- Thus, the ratio of BCL-2 to Bac determines the cells’ susceptibility to apoptotic stimuli
- The pathway responds to growth factors and biochemical stress
What is the p53 gene?
-It induces cell cycle arrest and initiates DNA damage repair
- If damage is more difficult to repair, then p53 can induce apoptosis via activation of pro-apoptotic members of the BCL-2 family
Describe the extrinsic apoptosis pathway
- Ligand-binding at death receptors on the cell surface
- This results in the clustering of receptors of receptor molecules in the cell surface and the initiation of the signal transduction cascade
- This pathway is used by the immune system to eliminate lymphocytes
What proteins carry out apoptosis?
Caspases
What is necrosis?
Traumatic cell death which induces inflammation and repair
What is necrosis characterised by?
- Bioenergetic failure, i.e. failure to produce ATP
- The loss of plasma membrane integrity
What are the 4 types of necrosis?
- Coagulative (most common)
- Liquefactibe
- Caseous
- Gangrene
What is coagulative necrosis?
- Most common type
- Caused by ischaemia
- Can happen in most organs
- Tissue will become soft due to digestion by macrophages
- Presence of necrotic tissue will evoke an inflammatory response
What is liquefactive necrosis?
- Occurs in the brain due to its lack of substantial supporting stroma meaning necrotic neural tissue may totally liquefy
What is caseous necrosis?
- Where dead tissue becomes structureless, almost like soft cheese
- Normally associated with TB
What is hypertrophy?
- An increase in cell size without cell division
- Muscle hypertrophy is seen in athletes
- Uterine hypertrophy is seen in pregnancy
What is hyperplasia?
- An increase in cell number by mitosis
- This can only happen in cells that divide i.e., it can’t happen in myocardial cells or nerve cells
- Hyperplasia of bone marrow cells can be seen in those living at high altitude
What is atrophy?
- The decrease in the size of an organ or cell by reduction in size or number often involving apoptosis
- Occurs naturally during the development of the GU tract
- Occurs in disease e.g., muscle atrophy in ALS due to lack of innervation
What is metaplasia?
-The change in differentiation of a cell from one fully differentiated cell type to another
- Occurs in response to alterations in cellular environment
- E.g., Squamous epithelium of the oesophagus can become columnar in response to stomach acid (Barett’s oesophagus)
What is dysplasia?
- Morphological changes seen in cells in the progression to becoming cancer (not cancer but could become cancer
Why do we age?
- Our cell’s ability to divide decreases the older we get
- Our fetal cells have the greatest potential for division
- Ageing is influenced by genetic and environmental factors
What is telomeric shortening?
- At the tip of each chromosome, there is a non-coding, randomly repetitive DNA sequence this is the telomere
- The telomeric sequences are not fully copied during DNA synthesis as a result, during each mitosis, the telomere is shortened