Plasma

Question 1

How much extracellular fluid is there in comparison to intracellular fluid?

Answer 1

There more intracellular fluid than extracellular fluid

Question 2

What is extracellular fluid?

Answer 2

Mainly consists on interstitial fluid, plasma and transcellular fluid (CSF, ocular fluid, synovial fluid)

Question 3

What is interstitial fluid?

Answer 3

between cells,carries O2 and nutrients to cells from blood and takes waste from cells to blood, drained by lymphatic vessels

Question 4

What is plasma?

Answer 4

Second largest component of extracellular fluid
Very similar to interstitial fluid but has more proteins
It’s the liquid component of blood

Question 5

What is serum?

Answer 5

Generated from blood clotting for several minutes and plasma being depleted of coagulation factors and trapping cells and platelets in clot

Question 6

What’s the difference between plasma and serum?

Answer 6

Plasma is easy to get whereas serum takes longer but is ‘cleaner’

Question 7

How can blood be separated?

Answer 7

Apheresis involves taking blood from a donor, centrifuging it to remove a particular component then returning the blood back to the donor

Question 8

How can we separate plasma from its proteins?

Answer 8

7% of plasma is proteins, can be separated out with electrophoresis which shows us which protein there are and how much of each

Question 9

What are examples of therapeutic apheresis treatments?

Answer 9

Plasma exchange: Treatment of MS and Myeloma
Low density lipid removal: Treatment of atherosclerosis
Red cell exchange: Treatment of sickle cell disease
Platelet depletion: Treatment of leukaemia

Question 10

What regulates the osmoregularity of plasma?

Answer 10

Electrolytes dictate the osmoregularity of plasma.
Na+ tends to be in higher concentration outside blood cells and in plasma
K+ has a higher concentration inside blood cells- its neutralised by lots of anions including proteins, nucleic acid and phosphorylated proteins within cells
Cl- has a very low conc. inside blood cells
Extracellular Cl- is balanced with K+ charge
Intracellular Mg is a cofactor for lots of enzymes

Question 11

What is serum albumin?

Answer 11

Biggest protein and is made by liver

Question 12

What is the role of serum albumin?

Answer 12

Transport of lipids, hormones and ions
Maintains osmotic pressure of plasma
Transport of fatty acids released by lipolysis from breakdown of triglycerides in adipose tissues

Question 13

What are globulins?

Answer 13

35% of plasma proteins

Divided into alpha (1 and 2), beta (1 and 2) and gamma globulins

Question 14

Give an example of an alpha 1 globulin and its role

Answer 14

Alpha-1 antitrypsin (A1AT)- produced by liver, inhibits proteases so A1AT protects tissues from proteases (protects tissues from neutrophil elastase released by neutrophils during inflammation)
A defective A1AT can compromise lung and lose elasticity

Question 15

Give examples of an alpha 2 globulin and its role

Answer 15

1. Haptoglobin binds to Hb released from RBCs
   Haemoglobin- haptoglobin complex is removed by spleen.
   Measuring levels of haptoglobin can be used to diagnose haemolytic anaemia
2. Alpha-2 macroglobulin is a protease inhibitor which can inactivate fibrinolysis

Question 16

What are beta globulins?

Answer 16

Include complement proteins C3 and 4 and transferrin (transports iron made in the liver)

Question 17

What are gamma globulins?

Answer 17

Includes immunoglobulins/ antibodies and c-reactive protein (acute phase protein- goes up in inflammation)
Increased amount of gamma globulins is associated with infection

Question 18

What is the role of the Na+-K+-ATPase pump?

Answer 18

3 Na+ move out of ell
2k+ enter cell
Uses ATP
Maintains conc. so its appropriate for depolarisation and maintaining cell volume
If ATP is used up cells become spherical because Na and water move into cell- can burst