Inflammation: Mediators Flashcards
What are the Mediators of inflammation?
- Wide variety of chemical substances are necessary to regulate theinflammatory response
- Mediators are potent once activated
- Activity must be closely regulated
- rapidly decay
- Enzymatically destroyed
- Scavenged/bloocked by inhibitors
What are the categories of inflammation mediators?
- Plasma-derived mediators
- Cell-derived mediators
What are Plasma-derived Mediators?
- Produced mainly in the liver
- Circulates in blood as inactive precursor
- Ex:
- Hageman Factor (Factor XII) pathways
- Kinins
- Plasmin
- Complement
- Inflammation inhibitors
What are Cell-derived Mediators?
- Produced / stored in granules in specific cells
- Produced & released upon cell activation
- Effects tend to be localized
- Ex:
- Vasoactive amines
- Membrane lipid products
- Arachidonic acid metabolites
- Platelet activating factor (PAF)
- Oxygen metabolites
- Cytokines
- Lysosomal enzyme products
What is Hageman Factor pathwasy?
- Hageman Factor (Factor XII) best known as the initiator of intrinsic coagulation
- result in formation of fibrin
- Activated Factor XII:
- activates Kinin pathways
- leads to production of bradykinin
- Activation of plasminogen
- leads to production of fibrinolytic agents
- Activation of complement
- plasmin cleaves C3 and C5
- activates Kinin pathways

What are the pathways of Kinin formation?
- Plasma Kinin Pathway
- Tissue Kinin Pathway
- End product is bradykinin

What is the Plasma Kinin Pathway?
- Associated with Hageman factor activation
- Initiated by Factor XII interaction with HMWK / Factor XI / Prekallikrein complex
- Bradykinin is derived from the cleavage of HMWK by kallikrein

What is the Tissue Kinin pathway?
- Initiated by LMWK cleavage by tissue kallikreins
- LMWK poduced by many different tissues andsecreted in conjunction with a tissue kallikrein
- Source:
- Salivary gland
- Prostate
- Pancrease
- Lymph nodes
- Mast cells / basophils
- Complement fragments
- LMWK is cleaved into Kallidin which is converted to bradykinin
What are the activities of Bradykinin?
- Increased vascular permeability
- Vascular effects are mediated by binding bradykinin B1 receptor which is expressed by normal tissue
- Vasodilation
- Extravascular smooth muscle contraction
- Pain
- Mediated by binding bradykinnin B2 receptor which is expressed in injured tissue
How is Bradykinin inactivated?
- Inactivated by kininases
- Angiotensin converting enzyme (Kininase II) from endothelium
What is Plasmin?
- Derived from the cleavage of plasminogen
- Mediated by various enzymed:
- Tissue plasminogen Activator (tPA)
- urokinase
- Killikrein
- Factor XIIa
- Mediated by various enzymed:
What are the major functions of Plasmin/
- Fibrinolysis
- Activation of Factor XII
- Complemnt System activation
What is Fibrinolysis?
- Fibrin degradation products are the result
- These products can increase vascular permeability and are chemotactic for neutrophils
- Deficiency can result in thrombosis

What is Plasmin’s role in Complement system activation?
- Plasmin directly cleaves C3 to C3a
How is the Complement System Activated?
- Activtion occurs in a cascade by several different pathways
- Classical pathway
- Alternate pathway
- Mannose-binding lctin (MBL) pathway
- Activation generates a wide variety of biolodically active products

What is the Classical Pathway of the Complement System?
- Initiated by antibody complexes
- IgG and/or IgM crosslinks and activates C1
- Classical 3 convertase
- Formed by binding C4 and C2 (C4b2a)
- This cleaves C3 to form C3a and C3b
- Classical 5 convertase
- Formed by C4b2a binding C3b (C4b2a3b)
- This cleaves C5 to form C5a and C5b

What is the Alternate Pathway of the Complement System?
- Can be activated by bacterial and fungal cell waslls, parasites, some tumor cell membranes, and activated plasma proteins
-
Initiated by C3 cleavage by microbial products (eg: LPS, fungal polysaccharide)
- Also activated by kinin, factor XIIa, plasmin and kallikrein cleavage of C3
- Alternate C3 convertase
- Formed by binding C3b and factor B (C3bBb)
- This cleaves C3 to form C3a and C3b
- Alternate C5 convertase
- Formed by C3bBb binding additional C3b (C3bBb3b)
- This cleaves C5 to form C5a and C5b

What is the MBL pathway of the Complement system?
- Activated by binding MBL to mannose on bacterial surfaces
- Forms MBL-associated serine proteases (MASPs) that cleave C4 and 2
- Classical C3 convertase is formed
- C2b2a
- All but the initiation is the ssame as the classical pathway

How do the Complement Pathways end?
- All converge with the activation of C5 to initiate the terminal pathway
- endpoint of complement activation
- results in formation of the membrane attack complex (MAC) that destroys biological membranes
- MAC = C5b6789
What is the Terminal Pathway of the Complement System?
- Initiated by cleaving C5 to C5a and C5b
- Mediated by classical / alternate C5 convertase
- C5b anchors formation of the MAC that inserts into lipid membranes
- C5b6798999…
- Up to 18 C9 molecules may participate
- C5b6798999…
- MAC forms a hole in the membrane
- Osmotic lysis of the cell / bacteria

What are the functions of Complement fragments?
- C3a / C5a increase vascular permeability
- C3b / C5a stimulate neutrophil degranulation
- C3b is an opsonin and ehances platelet aggregation
- C5a / C5b67 are chemotactic for various leukocytes
- C5b6789 destroys bacterial and cell membranes
Is prior exposure needed to activate the Complement System?
- No, activated with or without prior exposure to the agent
What are Inflammatory inhibitors
- Critical to inactivate inflammatory mediators before their activity becomes excessive or detrimental
- Ex:
- Alpha-2 macroglobulin
- Family of protease inhibitors
- Inhibit plasmin, kallikrein, thrombin, others
- Family of protease inhibitors
- Kininases
- Enzymes that phosphorylate proteins to alter their function
- Kininases I and II degrade bradykinin
- Enzymes that phosphorylate proteins to alter their function
- Alpha-1 antitrypsin
- Protease inhibitor of the serpin family
- inhibits many serine proteases
- Protease inhibitor of the serpin family
- Alpha-2 macroglobulin
What are the Cell-derived Inflammation Mediatos?
- Vasoactive amines
- Membrane lipid products
- Arachidonic acid metabolites
- Platelet activating factor (PAF)
- Oxygen metabolites
- Cytokines
- Lysosomal enzyme products
What are Vasoactive amines?
- Histamine and serotonin
- Formed and stored in the granules of mast cells, basophils, and platelets
- Releasd by stimuli:
- allergic (IgE) reactions
- Cold temps
- C3a / C5a
- Cytokines (IL-1 and IL-8)
- Substance P
What species iis serotonin important to?
- Most importat in rodents
- Located in rodent mast cells and mamalian platelets
What are the Biological effects of Vasoactive amines?
- Vasodilation (artriole)
- Increased vascular permeability (venule)
- Smooth muscle constriction (airway)
- Eosinophil chemotaxis
- Pain
- Itching
WHat are Arachidonic Acid Metabolites?
- A polyunsaturated fatty acid component of cell membrane phospholipids
- Mainly present present in edothelium, leukocyte, and platelet membranes
- Degradation of AA phospholipase A2 results in numerous products with potent biological effects
- Degradation can be initiated by:
- Inflammatory stimuli
- Substances involved in hemostasis
- Endocrine Stimulation
- Mechanical and Physical factors
What are the pathways of Arachidonic Acid Metabolism?
- 2 Major pathways
- Cyclooxygenase
- Lipoxygenase
- Cytochrome P450 Pathway
- independent pathway wich results in formation of an intermediate compound (HPETE) that is a reactant in the lipoxygenase pathway
- Cytochrome P450 Pathway

What is the Cyclooxygenase (COX) pathway?
- Present in many different cells
- 3 isoenzymes control the pathway
- Produce an intermediate protaglandin, PGH2
- The intermediat form PGH2 is converted to at leat 5 end products by specific synthases
What are the 3 isoenzymes that control the COX pathway?
- COX-1
- Constitutively expressed in nearly all tissues
- COX-2
- Expressed following inflammatory stimuli
- COX-3
- A variant o COX-1 present mainly in the cerebrum
What are the end products of PGH2?
- PGD2 : Allergy / vasodilation
- Mast cells
- PGF2 : Vasoconstriction, muscle contraction
- Endothelium and epithelium
- PGE2 : Fever, Vasodilation / increased permeability
- Endothelium, epithelium, fibroblasts, leukocyts
- PGI2 : Vasodilation and anti-platelet
- Endothlium
- TXA2 : Vasoconstriction and pro-platelet
- Platelets
What is the lipoxygenase (LOX) pathway?
- Present in leukocytes
- 5-lipoxygenase and 5-lipoxygenase-activating protein control the pathway
- Form the complex 5-HPETE (hydroxyperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid)
- HPETE and HETE are chemotactic for leukocytes
- Form the complex 5-HPETE (hydroxyperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid)
- This produces an intermediate leikotriene, LTA4

What are the products of LTA4?
- LTB4 : chemotaxis, vascular permeability, degranulation of neutrophils
- Neutrophils and macrophages
- LTC4 : vascular permeability, vasoconstriction
- Eosinophil / mast cell, macrophage
- LTC4, LTD4, LTE4 : Vasodilation and vascular permeability
- macrophage

What is Lipoxins?
- Also derived from LOX
- Derived from platelets with contributions of AA from other cells
- Platelet 12-lipoxygenase + LTA4 from neutrophils yields lipoxins A4 and B4
- Function:
- Lipoxins are both pro- and anti-inflammatory and tend to counteract leukotrienes
- Effects seem to be concentration dependent:
- some cases stimultinghemotaxis, vascular permeability, and oxygen radical formatin
- other cases have oposite effects
- Effects seem to be concentration dependent:
- Lipoxins are both pro- and anti-inflammatory and tend to counteract leukotrienes
What is platelet activating factor?
- Derived from the activity of phospholipase A2 and acetyltransferase on mmbrane phospholipids
- Produced by leukocytes, platelets and endothelial cells
What are the biological activities of Platelet activating factor?
- Vasoconstriction and vasodilation
- Increased vascular permeability
- Leukocyte chemotaxis, aggregation and adhesion
- Platelet activation

What are Reactive Oxygen Metabolites?
- These are normal products of aerobic metabolism
- Concentrations are closely controlled by antioxidants
- Superoxide dismutase and catalase, among many other
- Concentrations are closely controlled by antioxidants
- Produced in high concentration by activated leukocytes, endothelium and platelets
- Importat mechanism in leukocytes for killing microorganisms

What are the effects of Reactive Oxygen metabolites on inflammation?
- Endothelial injury and increased permeability
- Generation of chemotactic substances
- Activate cytokine secretion
- Generation of AA metabolites
- Inactivation of anti-inflammatory substances
- Cell and tissue diamage

What are Nitric Oxide metabolites?
- Produced by endothelium, macrophages and neurons
- Endothelial NO synthetas (eNOS) is constituitively produced and contributes to vascular smooth muscle relaxation, vasodilation, and inhibition of platelet adhesion and aggregation
- Inducible NO synthetase (iNOS) is produced by activated macrophages
- Have many similarities to oxygen metabolites
- They can oxidize proteins and lipid membranes
What are the effects of Nitric Oxide Metabolites on inflammation?
- Enhanced vascular effects (vasodilation)
- Inhibition of leukocyte adhesion and chemotaxis
- Antimicrobial killing
- Cell injury

What are Cytokines?
- Soluble proteins produced and screted by cells
- These include growth factors, chemotactic factors, inflammatory mediators, immunoregulatory factors
- Produced by enothelium, leukocytes, lymphocytes among others
- Produce many of the local and systemic effects of inflammation
- Lymphokines
- immunoregulatoy substances
- Monokines
- Monocyte / macrophage products
- Interleukin - 1
- Tumor necrosis factor
- Monocyte / macrophage products
- Lymphokines

What are Neuropeptides?
- A large group of Proteins are relased by nerve endings that mediate communication between neurons
- Some of these produce inflammatory effects
- Neurogenic inflammation
- (Ex) Substance P
- Produced by nerves, macrophages, and lymphocytes
- Member of the tachykinin family of neuropeptides
What are the effects of Substance P on inflammation?
- Vasodilation
- Increased vascular permeability
- Leukocyte activation
- including degranulation of mast cells and eosinophils
- Chemotaxis

What is the importance of inflammatory mediators?
- Drive the inflammatory process
- Can create adverse effects due to excessive inflammation
- Some of these can be controlled for the benefit of the animal
- Anti-histamines
- Corticosteroids
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs