MoD Flashcards
How can cells become injured?
Radiation Extreme heat Hypoxia Microorganisms Chemical agents Trauma Immune mechanisms
What is disease?
A state of failed homeostasis resulting in morphological and functional changes to cells
What are the 4 types of hypoxia?
Hypoxic hypoxia - low pO2 atmosphere, low O2 uptake in lungs
Anaemic hypoxia - lack of Hb to carry the O2, CO binding to Hb
Ischaemic hypoxia - lack of blood supply and therefore O2 delivery to a tissue
Histiocytic hypoxia - malfunctioning oxidative phosphorylation pathway (action of CN etc)
What is the result of hypoxia?
No respiration and no ATP generated as a result =
1). Increase in glycolysis
- production of lactate, pyruvate etc lowers pH = clumping of chromatin
2). Ribosomes detach from ER
- decreased protein synthesis
- lipid deposition
3). Na+/K+ ATPase fails
- intracellular Na+ mounts, K+ efflux occurs and NCX reverses to bring in Ca2+
= cellular swelling, blebs, myelin figures
What effect does high intracellular Ca2+ have on a cell?
Activates enzymes
1) . Proteases = digests cytoskeleton and proteins
2) . Phospholipases = damage membranes including ER and lysosomes
3) . ATPases = rid of the small ATP levels present
4) . Endonucleases = damages chromatin
What is oncosis?
The spectrum of morphological changes in a cell, prior to its death that occurs with swelling.
What is necrosis?
The morphological changes that a cell undergoes after it has been dead some time.
What are the reversible/oncosis related changes that can occur in cell injury?
- Swelling - shows as reduced pink staining
- Chromatin clumping
- Blebs
- Ribosomes detaching from the ER - shows as bits of darker pink
What are the irreversible/necrosis related changes that occur in cell injury?
- karyolysis, pyknosis, karyorrhexis
- myelin figures
- further swelling
- lysosome and ER rupture
What is coagulative necrosis and its appearance?
Protein denaturation > enzymatic activity
Ghost outline of cells preserves cell architecture
Heart, kidney
What is liquefactive necrosis and what does it look like?
Enzyme degradation > protein denaturation
More liquified and possibly creamy (pus may be present if acute inflammation is ongoing) with debris and neutrophils
Brain, lungs
What is caseous necrosis and what does it look like?
This is often found in cases of TB
Structureless with debris, often appears white and soft (like cheese) and with granulomas
What is fat necrosis and what does it look like?
This is destruction of adipose tissue.
Appears chalky white (due to fatty acid reaction with calcium) and the outline of adipocytes are present.
What is an infarct?
Tissue death caused by obstruction of the tissues blood supply
In what types of necrosis do the different types of infarct occur in?
Red infarct can occur in liquefactive
White infarct can occur in coagulative
What is a white infarct and where/why does it occur?
Where there is little haemorrhage into the area of tissue death.
Occurs due to occlusion of an end artery and due to solidarity of the tissue (as white infarcts occur in solid organs) limiting haemorrhage into it.
Heart, spleen, kidneys (usually wedge shaped)
What is a red infarct and where/why does it occur?
This is where extensive haemorrhage occurs.
Occurs if
- the tissue has collateral blood supply (two arteries supplying it)
- the tissue is not solid (poor stromal support)
- the tissue has many anastomoses (2 arteries share a capillary bed)
- increased venous pressure
- congestion has been in the tissue previously
Occurs in the brain, lungs
What are the 2 reactions that form free radicals?
Haber Weiss
- O2- + H2O2 + H+ —–> O2 + *OH + H2O
Fenton reaction
- Fe2+ + H2O2 —–> OH- + *OH + Fe3+
Why are free radicals bad?
Damage DNA
Lipid peroxidation
Cause proteins to be denatured
What are some cellular defences against ROS?
- SOD and catalase (O2- —-> H2O2 —-> H2O + O2
- glutathione and NADPH
- Vit A, C, E and flavenoids (beta carotene)
- zinc and selenium in membrane as scavengers
What is ischaemia reperfusion injury caused by?
A build up of ROS, neutrophils and compliment proteins
What products do dying cells release?
K+
- hyperpolarisation of cells which makes it harder to fire A.P
- usually diluted before it reaches the heart but can be much larger in huge trauma, tumour lysis syndrome and tourniquet shock
Enzymes
- can be detected for diagnosis
Myoglobin
- released from damaged striated muscle (trauma, burns, exercise)
- plugs up renal tubules and can lead to renal failure = brown urine
What is calcification?
The accumulation of hydroxyapatite crystals in tissue, especially abnormal in soft tissue.
What is dystrophic calcification and where does it often occur?
Calcification in areas of dying tissue with no abnormality in Ca2+ levels or metabolism (= local)
Atherosclerotic plaque, ageing or damaged heart valves, TB infected lymph nodes
What is metastatic calcification and how does it occur?
This is where calcium is deposited into tissues due to hypercalcaemia as a result of abnormal metabolism.
Can occur as a result of
- increased PTH secretion due to ectopic producing tumour or parathyroid tumour
- bone destruction
- vitamin D related disorder
- renal failure
What are the basic steps of apoptosis?
Normal cell
Cell chromatin condenses
Cell shrinks
Formation of apoptotic bodies
What is the intrinsic pathway of initiation and execution of apoptosis?
Mitochondria increase permeability of membrane to allow leakage of cytochrome C
Cytochrome C reacts with APAF1 and caspase 9 to form an apoptosome
Apoptosome activates further caspases
What inhibits he release of cytochrome C from mitochondria?
BCl2
What is the extrinsic pathway for initiation and execution of apoptosis?
External death ligands bind to death receptors on the cell
This activates caspases
What is the third stage of apoptosis and how does it occur?
Degradation and phagocytosis
Apoptotic bodies have portions of cytoplasm and other organelle fragments inside them. They have an undamaged membrane containing molecules that induce their phagocytosis
What do caspases do?
Degrade the DNA and cytoplasmic proteins
Name some physiological and pathological pathways in which apoptosis occurs.
Physiological
- sculpting in embryogenesis
- some organs response to hormones (uterus etc)
Pathological
- accumulation of misfolded proteins cause ER stress = apoptosis
- virus induced
- damage to DNA
Name some abnormal protein accumulations.
Mallorys hyaline - keratin build up in liver in alcoholic liver disease as it can’t process them.
Alpha1antitrypsin - in alpha1antitrypsin disorder the liver misfolds the enzyme = can’t leave ER so stays there and no longer inhibits tissue breakdown in other organs
Name some abnormal pigment accumulations.
Exogenous - coal dust, tattoo ink.
Endogenous
- haemosiderin - derived from Hb, can be released due to leakage from stores, or deposited due to systemic overload.
- –> may be caused by hereditary haemochromatosis, where the intestine absorbs too much iron and deposits in in organs
- lipofuscin - brown pigment due to ROS causing lipid peroxidation, found with ageing
- bilirubin - deposited in tissues if produced in excess causing jaundice
Name lipid accumulations.
TAG build up in liver = steathosis
Cholesterol build up = stored as membrane bound droplets as its insoluble. This can then be absorbed by macrophages to form foam cells.
What are the effects of an aspirin overdose?
Increases resp centre = alkalosis which body tries to amend = acidosis
Interferes with carb, fat and protein metab = lactate/pyruvate/ketone body production = acidosis
Decreases platelet aggregation and inhibits stomach from producing mucus = GI bleeding