Mechanisms of Liver Disease 1 and 2 Flashcards
What reversible types of hepatocellular injury?
Ballooning degeneration
Steatosis
Cholestasis
What is ballooning degeneration? What is it indicative of?
Reversible hepatocellular injury
Depletion of cellular ATP with loss of volume control (influx of electrolytes and water)
It is present in many different causes of liver injury
What is steatosis?
Reversible hepatocellular injury
Accumulation of fat triglyceride droplets in hepatocytes
Differentiate between macrosteatosis and microsteatosis
Macrosteatosis - large droplets replacing the nucleus; more common, seen in numerous conditions
Microsteatosis - small droplets that do not replace the nucleus; more rare, seen in pregnancy, Reye’s syndrome
BOTH CAN BE PRESENT IN ONE PATIENT
What’s causing the damage in cholestasis? The bilirubin or bile salts?
BILE SALTS
Bilirubin just causes the yellow discoloration of the skin (jaundice)
What is kernicterus?
Severe complication of UNCONJUGATED hyperbilirubinemia
Free bilirubin crosses blood brain barrier and deposits in basal ganglia
What is “feathery degeneration” of hepatocytes and what is it indicative of?
Feathery degeneration is ballooning of hepatocytes caused by bile salt accumulation seen in cholestasis and its related disorders
What are the three key features seen in obstructive/mechanical cholestasis?
Portal expansion
Bile duct proliferation
Bile plugs
What are irreversible types of hepatocellular injury?
Necrosis
Apoptosis
What are the types of necrosis in hepatocellular injury
Cytolytic - IRREVERSIBLE ballooning of hepatocytes due to defective osmotic regulation –> cell swelling and death
Coagulative - architecture of dead tissue is preserved; results from ischemic damage
What is the difference between confluent necrosis and zonal necrosis?
Confluent = death of GROUPS of adjacent hepatocytes
Zonal = confluent necrosis that exhibits a zonal distribution in the lobule (Zone 3 vs Zone 1, etc.)
What lab tests are indicative of hepatocyte integrity?
AST, ALT, LDH
What lab tests are indicative of biliary function?
Bilirubin
Bile Acids
Cancalicular enzymes: GGT, alk phos
What cells in the liver cause fibrosis?
Stellate cells
What are the most common causes of ACUTE liver failure?
Viral hepatitis (worldwide)
Acetaminophen overdose (USA)
What are the most common causes of CHRONIC liver failure?
Chronic Hepatitis B and C
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD)
Alcoholic Liver Disease