MSK Flashcards
what are the classifications of bone by shape?
- Long bones
- tubular
- hollow shaft
- ends expanded for articulation
- Short bones
- cuboidal
- Flat bones
- plates, often curved
- protective function
- Irregular bones
- Sesamoid bones
- round/oval nodules
bone macrostructure types
- Cortical
- dense
- only spaces are for vessels and cells
- Trabecular
- Cancellous (i.e. spongey)
- networks of trabeculae - holes filled with marrow
- cells are in the trabeculae and the blood vessels
Types of bone microstructure
- woven
- no clear structure and disorganises
- lamellar
- organised and layered structure
how does a hollow long bone’s structure contribute to its function?
- keeps mass away from the neutral axis which minimises deformation
how does a trabecular bone’s structure contribute to its function?
- gives structural support while minimising mass
adult bone composition
- 50-70% mineral
- hydroxyapetite which is a crystalline form of calcium phosphate
- 20-40% organic matrix
- mostly collagen
- 5-10% water
collagen stacked in fibrils with the hydroxyapetite crystals stacked like plates between them
cells of the bone
- osteoclasts
- multinucleated
- break bone down
- osteoblasts
- plump and cuboidal
- build bone up
- osteocytes
- stellate and are entombed in the bone
- in lacunae
Osteoblasts
- mesenchymal origin just like fibroblasts
- produce type I collagen and mineralise the ECM by depositing hydroxyapetite crystals within fibrils
- secrete factors that regulate osteoclasts
- RANKL
Osteoclasts
- haematopoietic origin
- they are specialised macrophages
- RANKL causes differentiation into mature osteoclast
- function is to resorb bone
- it dissolves the mineralised matrix with acid called TRAP
- breaks down the collagen with enzyme called cathepsin K
what is bone modelling?
- gross shape of the bone is altered, bone added or taken away
what is bone remodelling
- all of the bone is altered, new bone replaces old bone
- on average the entire skeleton is replaced every 20 years
- what happens is
- resorption by osteoclasts creates a hole
- a signal is sent that thats enough resorption
- osteoblasts are sent in to fill the deficit
- this results in new bone where the old bone was
- if remodelling becomes dysregulated we get disease
- the ability to create bone at the same speed it is taken away is diminished with age
- this leads to osteoperosis
why remodel bone?
- to repair damage
- as a response to weight bearing exercise
- woven bone (bone that has been laid down really quickly) needs to be replaced with lamellar bone
- in order to obtain calcium when there is a deficit
- reorientate fibres into the direction that is best for mechanical strength
what percentage of proteins are collagens
~30%
Type I collagen structure and organisation
- 3 chains intertwined and glycosylated forms tropocollagen
- 3 chains are held together in a triple helix by hydrogen bonds between hydroxyproline residues
- this requires vitamin C
- lots of tropocollagen is organised into a fibril
- lots of fibrils are organised into fibers
- fibril and fibers are held together by covalent cross-links between lysine side-chains
- copper needed for these
collagen breakdown
- uses proteases like collagenases and cathepsin K (in bone)
- these break of the telopeptides at the end of the triple helix
- this gives NTx and CTx
- NTx can be measured in urine and is often used as a marker of collagen breakdown
- CTx is a better marker but must be measured in blood
type 1 collagen processing
- before collagen can be exported for use in bone or whatever, the end globby bits need to be chopped off
- these bits are referred to as P1NP and P1CP
- for N terminus and C terminus
- these can be measured in the blood as a measure of bone formation
- P1NP is generally used cause it’s not metabolised and is excreted intact in the urine
where is type I collagen found?
bone, tendons, ligaments and skin
where is type II collagen found?
articular cartilage and vitreous humour
where is type III collagen found?
this is reticulate collagen and is commonly found alongside type I
where is type IV collagen found?
it is found at the basal lamina
where is type V collagen found?
it is commonly found at the cell surface
where is type X collagen found
at the growth plate
what is appositional growth?
- growth at the periphery of bone
- growth in the perichondrium causes an increase in diameter
- cell division takes place
what is interstitial growth?
- increase in length
- it happens in the middle of the bone at the growth plate
- chondrocytes become chondroblasts
- matrix becomes more dense
targeted resorption
for long bones to develop they need to model bone (build) but also resorb bone in targeted areas so that they have the proper structure - see picture
inability to resorb bone leads to metaphyseal flare where the bone remains wide for much of its length
in picture: needs to grow into green outline and resorb red outline in order to preserve proper structure
how much calcium is held in the skeleton?
1200g
how much calcium is held in the extra cellular space
and for what?
1g
for normal cell function e.g. blood clotting, muscle contraction, nerve function
how much calcium is in the serum
2.4 mmol/L
it’s wither complexes with citrate or phosphate, ionised (and therefore metabolically active) or bound to protein and therefore not metabolically active
why are ionised calcium levels important
- at higher pH, albumin binds to calcium strongly
- this reduces ionised calcium (metabolically active) in the blood
- low ionised calcium leads to depolarisation of the long nerves of the upper limb
- this is associated with contraction of the small muscles of the hands and feet
- this is tetany
calcium kinetics: resoption, absorption and reabsorption
calcium absorption
- we absorb 30% of dietary calcium
- active absorption
- this is the majority
- duodenum and jejunum
- mediatedx by calcitriol (1,25-dihydroxyvitaminD3)
- calcitriol is upregulated in a low calcium diet to ensure a greater fraction is absorbed
- passive absorption
- happens in the ileum and the colon
calcium release from bone
- quickly from exchangable calcium on the bone surface
- more slowly from osteoclasts during bone resorption
calcium and the kidney
- 98% of calcium filtred through the glomerulus is reabsorbed
- reabsorption is increased when PTH level is high
- reabsorption is decreased when filtered sodium is high
- most of the reabsorption happens in the proximal conveluted tubule
1,25 (OH)2-D effect on parathyroid cells
- 1,25 (OH)2-D enters nucleus
- binds Vitamin D receptor on DNA
- reduces the synthesis of PTH
effect of calcium on PTH secretion
- very small changes in ionised clacium produce a big effect on the amount of PTH
- the parathyroid glands have calcium sensing receptors
- a narrow normal range of calcium must be maintained
actions of parathyroid hormone
- kidney
- increased Ca2+ reabsorption
- this is by decreasing phosphate reabsorption
- hydroxylation of 25,OH vit D (activation)
- Bone
- resorption at a faster rate than formation
- Gut
- increased Ca2+ absorption because of increased 1,25(OH)VitD
what is calcitriol
it is the active form of vitamin D
1,25(OH)2VitD
it is activated by 1a-hydroxylase and PTH causes this to happen
calcitriol action
- binds vitamin D receptor
- this mediatews the transcellular calcium absorption in the gut
- in a high calcium diet this is unecessary as it can move into the blood paracellularly
what is calcitonin
- a hormone produced by C cells in the thryroid
- its secretion is stimulated by an increase in serum calcium
- the effect is to lower bone resorption
fast and slow actions of PTH
- Fast:
- exchangable calcium is released from the surface of the bone
- excretion of calcium from the kidney is decreased
- Slow:
- increased bone resorption
- increased fractional absorption by the intestine (by activating 1a-hydroxylase which activates vitamin D)
what is normal serum ionised calcium?
1mmol/L
name some roles of phosphate in physiology
- Membranes
- ATP - energy source
- In DNA
- In activating/inactivating proteins via kinases
- As a bone mineral: calcium hydroxyapatite
what should total body phosphate be
- 500-800g
- 1% of total body weight
- 90% in bones
- serum phosphate –> 0.8-1.5mmol/L
- 50% free ions
- 35% complexed with Ca, Mg or Na
- 10% protein bound
High phosphate
- excessive production of hydroxyapetite
- deposition in tissues other than bone
- e.g. artery calcification
low phosphate
- poor bone mineralisation
- rickets of osteomalicia
- pain and fractures
dietary sources of phosphate
dairy
soy
seeds adn nuts
meat
recommended daily intake is 700mg
gut absorption of phosphate
- in the small intestine
- passive diffusion at high concentrations
- active transport (Na dependent) at lower concentrations
- fractional absorption increases at lower concentrations
renal phosphate handling
- 90% of unbound phosphate is filtered
- 80% of this is reabsorbed in the proximal tubule
- 10% of this is reabsorbed in the distal tubule
- there is a maximum rate of reabsorption so excess is excreted
which factors regulate phosphate metabolism
- Parathyroid hormone
- 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D
- FGF-23
- fibroblast growth factor 23
FGF-23
- major regulator of phosphate metabolism
- the abnormality in a rare form of rickets
- it causes hypophosphataemia
- produced by osteocytes in response to:
- high phosphate levels
- dietary phosphate loading
- PTH
- 1,25 vitamin D
FGF-23 actions
- increases expression of Na+ cotransporter in the tubules
- increases renal excretion of phosphate
- decreases 1a hydroxylation of vitami D
- decreases gut absorption of phosphate
two reasons that osteoclasts and osteoblasts must be able to communicate
- coupling
- bone formation must occur at sites of previous bone resorption
- Balance
- the amount of bone removed by osteoclasts should be replaced by osteoblastic activity