Path - Inflammation (Apoptosis, Necrosis, & Cell injury) Flashcards
Pg. 220-221 in First Aid 2014 Sections include: -Apoptosis -Necrosis -Cell injury
In brief, what is apoptosis? Does it require ATP?
Programmed cell death; ATP requires
What are the 2 pathways for apoptosis? What is the common goal of both pathways?
Intrinsic or extrinsic pathway; both pathways –> activation of cytosolic caspases that mediate cellular breakdown
What is important to remember about inflammation in the context of apoptosis, especially as it compares/contrasts to necrosis?
No significant inflammation (unlike necrosis)
What are 6 histological findings that characterize apoptotic cells?
Characterized by (1) deeply eosinophlic cytoplasm (2) cell shrinkage (3) nuclear shrinkage (pyknosis) and basophilia (4) membrane blebbing (5) nuclear fragmentation (karyorrhexis) (6) Formation of apoptotic bodies, which are then phagocytosed
What is the fate of apoptotic bodies?
Formation of apoptotic bodies, which are then phagocytosed
What is a sensitive indicator of apoptosis, and why?
DNA laddering is a sensitive indicator of apoptosis; during karyorrhexis, endonucleases cleave at internucleosomal regions, yielding 180-bp fragments
How does radiation therapy cause apoptosis? What kind of cells are very susceptible to this? Give 2 examples of this kind of cell.
Radiation therapy causes apoptosis of tumors and surrounding tissue via free radical formation and dsDNA breakage; Rapidly dividing cells (e.g., skin, GI mucosa) are very susceptible to radiation therapy-induced apoptosis
What is an important correlation between apoptosis and embryology?
Intrinsic pathway (of apoptosis) - Involved in tissue remodeling in embryogenesis
What are 2 contexts in which apoptosis via the intrinsic pathway occurs? Give at least one example of each context/trigger.
(1) Occurs when a regulating factor is withdrawn from a proliferating cell population (e.g., decreased IL-2 after a complete immunological reaction –> apoptosis of proliferating effector cells.) (2) Also occurs after exposure to injurious stimuli (e.g., radiation, toxins, hypoxia).
What is the mechanism of the intrinsic pathway?
Changes in proportions of anti- and pro-apoptotic factors lead to increased mitochondrial permeability and cytochrome c release
What are 2 examples of pro-apoptotic proteins?
BAX and BAK are pro-apoptotic proteins
What is an example of an anti-apoptotic protein?
Bcl-2 is anti-apoptotic
What function does Bcl-2 normally serve, and via what mechanism?
Bcl-2 prevents cytochrome c release by binding to and inhibiting Apaf-1. Apaf-1 normally induces the activation of caspases.
What is the normal function of Apaf-1? What important protein inhibits its action?
Bcl-2 prevents cytochrome c release by binding to and inhibiting Apaf-1. Apaf-1 normally induces the activation of caspases.
What occurs due to overexpression of Bcl-2?
If Bcl-2 is overexpressed (e.g., follicular lymphoma), then Apaf-1 is overly inhibited, leading to decreased caspase activation and tumorigenesis.
What 2 pathways within the extrinsic pathway of apoptosis? Give the mechanism associated with each of these pathways.
2 pathways: (1) Ligand receptor interactions (FasL binding to Fas [CD95]) (2) Immune cell (cytotoxic T-cell release of perforin and granzyme B)
What is an important process that requires Fas-FasL interaction? What pathway(s) of apoptosis does this exemplify? Be specific.
Fas-FasL interaction is necessary in thymic medullary negative selection; Extrinsic pathway -Ligand receptor interactions
What results from mutations in Fas, and why?
Mutations in Fas increase numbers of circulating self-reacting lymphocytes due to failure of clonal deletion (via ligand receptor interactions of Fas L binding to Fas [CD95])
What ensues after Fas crosslinks with FasL? Briefly summarize downstream events.
After Fas crosslinks with FasL, forming a binding site for a death domain-containing adapter protein, FADD. FADD binds inactive caspases, activating them.