Plasma Flashcards
What are the 3 components of blood and what percentage do they make up?
Plasma- 55%
Red cells- 45%
Buffy coat- 1%
What does the buffy coat consist of?
Leukocytes and platelets
What is serum?
Plasma without clotting factors
How is serum obtained?
Blood is taken into a tube without an anticoagulant, allowed to clot and then centrifuged.
What 2 things do SSTs (silicone separator tubes) contain and why?
A silica coating which induces clotting
A layer of gel forming a physical barrier between cells and serum
What percentage of our fluid is intracellular and extracellular?
Intracellular 55%
Extracellular 45%
What are the 3 types of extracellular fluid and what percentage of our total fluid do they make up?
Interstitial fluid- 36%
Plasma- 7%
Transcellular fluid- 2%
What are the 6 functions of plasma?
Clotting
Immune Defence
Osmotic pressure maintenance
Metabolism
Endocrine
Exocrine
Why is plasma important in clotting?
Clotting factors and von Willebrand factors are found in it
Why is plasma important in immune defence?
Antibodies and complement proteins are found in plasma
Why is plasma importance in metabolism?
Nutrients such as glucose, amino acids and vitamins are transported in the plasma
Why is plasma important in maintaining osmotic pressure ?
Proteins in plasma such as albumin help to maintain colloidal osmotic pressure
Why is plasma important in endocrine function?
Many hormones are soluble in plasma and following release into the blood travel to their target organs
Why is plasma important in exocrine function?
Waste products of cell metabolism such as urea are transported via the plasma fraction of the blood to the kidneys for removal
What percentage of plasma is make up from proteins?
7%
What are the 2 types of proteins in plasma?
Serum albumin and globulins
How can they be analysed
Electrophoresis
What percentage of total plasma proteins are made up from serum albumin?
55%
Where is serum albumin produced?
The liver
What are 2 functions of serum albumin?
Transport of lipids hormones and ions
Maintaining osmotic pressure of plasma
What is the role serum albumin plays in lipid absorptions/digestion etc (detailed)?
Fatty acids released by lipolysis from the breakdown of triglycerides in adipose tissue (body fat) are transported by albumin for use by tissues in 𝛃-oxidation.
What percentage of total plasma proteins are made up of globulins?
35%
What are the 3 types of globulins?
Alpha, beta, and gamma
Name an alpha-1 globulin.
alpha-1 antitrypsin (A1AT)
Where is alpha globulin, alpha-1 antitrypsin (A1AT) produced?
The liver
What type of enzyme does A1AT play a role in inhibiting?
Proteases
A1AT protects tissues from a variety of enzymes, name one and where it is produced?
Neutrophil elastase, released by neutrophils during inflammation
What can happen to people with A1AT deficiency?
Degradation of lung tissue, which leads to loss of elasticity and respiratory problems.
More vulnerable to inhaled pollutants e.g. smoke, dust.
Name an alpha-2 globulin.
Haptoglobin
What does haptoglobin bind to, and where is the thing they bind to released from, and what does it form?
Haptoglobin binds to haemoglobin released from erythrocytes resulting in a haptoglobin-haemoglobin complex
What removes the haptoglobin-haemoglobin complex?
The spleen
What can measuring haptoglobin levels help diagnose?
Haemolytic anaemia
Name another alpha-2 globulin?
𝛂2 -macroglobulin
What type of enzyme does 𝛂2 -macroglobulin inhibit?
Proteases
What function does 𝛂2 -macroglobulin inactivate?
Fibrinolysis
Name a beta globulin.
Transferrin
Where is transferrin produced?
The liver
What does transferrin do?
Transports dietary iron and iron released from ferritin stores
Name 2 gamma globulins
Immunoglobulins and c-reactive protein
What is the diagnostic use of gamma globulins?
Increases in the relative amounts of the gamma fraction of globulins can indicate infection or myeloma.
What percentage of plasma is made up of electrolytes?
1%
What are the 5 ions in plasma?
Na+
Ca2+
Mg2+
Cl-
K+
Which ions is found 30 times lower in RBCs than plasma?
Na+
Which ion is found 30 times lower in plasma than RBCs?
K+
How is positive charge from intracellular potassium balanced?
Mainly by extracellular Cl-, but also by intracellular anions, such as proteins
Why is intracellular Mg2+ important for enzymes?
It is a cofactor for many enzymes
More than one third of ATP at rest is used to power what?
Na+-K+-ATPase (pump)
Why is Na+-K+-ATPase (pump) important?
Maintains gradient of Na+ and K+, which is key to the functioning of electrically excitable cells
When ATP levels are depleted, what happens to cell volume and why?
Cells become more spherical because of the inward movement of Na+ and water.
How can plasma be used in passive immunotherapy?
Immunoglobulins in the gamma globulin fraction can be used to transfer immunity from one individual to another
What is a passive immunotherapy called?
Intravenous Immunoglobulin G (IVIG)
Hyperimmune globulin
Donors screened for high levels of IgG against a particular pathogen
The IgG fraction is isolated from plasma of donor and concentrated
When is hyperimmune globulin given?
After high-risk exposure to pathogen
- Patients infected with SARS-CoV-2, develop antibodies against virus.
- After patient recovered (convalesced), blood donated to obtain antibody-rich plasma.
- Plasma tested for strength (affinity) and number of antibodies.
- If these levels are good, plasma given to patient infected with COVID-19.
