Leukaemia Flashcards
Acute myeloid leukaemia
- Haematopoietic stem cells lose ability to differentiate into specific myeloid cells
- build up of myleoblasts -> crowd out normal cell differentiation
Key difference between chronic and acute leukaemias
in acute - cells don’t mature at all
in chronic - cells only partially mature
Explain the symptoms of acute myeloid leukaemia
- Loss of RBCs -> anaemia -> fatigue
- Loss of platelets -> thrombocytopenia -> bleeding
- Loss of neutrophils -> neutropenia -> freq infections
Same symptoms for lymphoblastic leukaemias -> build up of premature leukocytes outcompete healthy cells for nutrients
Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is a build up of
lymphoblasts
Main lymphocyte affected in chronic myeloid leukaemia
B cells
Effects of partially mature B cells
they interfere w the BCR specifically tyrosine kinase:
prevent B cell death
prevent B cell maturation
Consequences of immature B cell build up
- autoimmune haemolytic anaemia
- hypogammaglobulinemia - reduction in gamma globulins production
Cells affected in chronic myeloid leukaemia
Granulocytes - neutrophils, eosinophils + basophils
General types of cells produced in chronic leukaemia
partially mature leukocytes i.e premature leukocytes
Affect of premature leukocytes on healthy cells:
make it difficulty for healthy cells to divide as they outcompete them for nutrients ==> decrease in healthy bloods cells
Why might patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia have lymphadenopathy?
build up of premature B cells spills out of the bone marrow into the blood then into lymph nodes
Lymphomas
distinct B cell masses in lymph nodes
Affect of BCR-ABL fusion protein
=> constitutively active tyrosine kinase
promotes cell division –> myleoblasts divide too quickly
How does CML increase risk of genetic mutations in cells?
because the myeloid cells are dividing too quickly due to the constitutively active Tyr-Kinase
