Repair and Regeneration Flashcards
What is ‘resolution’ in cell injury?
The ideal outcome of healing - cells can regrow and regenerate, restoring normal function and structure
What does resolution depend on?
Removal of damage, severity of damage
What happens if the damaged cells cannot regrow?
Scar formation (fibrous repair) and loss of function
What are the 2 most important factors in determining the outcome of injury?
- the ability of the cells to replicate
2. the ability to rebuild complex architectural structures
What are labile cells?
Cells that multiply constantly throughout life, are only alive for a short period of time
E.g. epidermis (skin), GI tract epithelium
What are stable cells?
What phase of the cell cycle do they spend most of their life in?
Examples?
Stable cells are cells that only replicate when needed.
They spend most of their life in the ‘quiescent’ G0 phase of the cell cycle but can be stimulated to enter the cell cycle when needed
E.g. hepatocytes, renal tubules
What are permanent cells? Examples?
Cells that are incapable of regeneration (or very little capacity)
E.g. neurons, cardiac myocytes, skeletal muscle cells
What is the regenerative capacity like of labile cells?
Very good - high normal turnover
What are stem cells?
cells that are able to develop into many different cell types
Describe the stem cell population of labile cells?
Very active stem cell population
What is the regenerative capacity like of stable cells?
Low physiological turnover BUT this turnover can be increased if needed
Good regenerative capacity e.g. if some if liver is removed, it can grow back
What is the regenerative capacity like of permanent cells?
No physiological turnover, no regenerative capacity
How are cells lost from injury or cells that have come to end of lifespan replaced?
Replaced from stem cell pool which is present in may labile and stable cell populations
What is the product when a stem cell undergoes mitotic division?
2 daughter cells
Describe the 2 daughter cells of a stem cell after mitotic division?
What is this called?
1 of the daughter cells retains stem cell characteristics.
The other cell progresses along a differentiation pathway e.g. epidermis
This is called asymmetric replication
What is asymmetric replication?
The process by which a stem cell undergoes differentiation or division.
The final result of which are two daughter cells. One cell is identical to the mother cell and the other a totally differentiated one.
Can complex structures (e.g. lung, glomeruli) be easily replaced?
No - evidence of scarring
Survival of the connective tissue framework is essential and if this isn’t present then the usual architecture of the organ cannot be maintained
What can cause a cirrhotic liver?
End result of persistent long term damage to the liver by a noxious agent that persists over a long period
E.g. alcohol, some hepatitis viruses, autoimmune damage)
In a cirrhotic liver, why can the regeneration of liver cells not repopulate the normal architecture?
There is collapse of the reticulin (connective tissue) framework of the liver
As the liver cells cannot repopulate the normal architecture, what forms?
This leads to the formation of regenerative nodules divided by fibrous septa
What are regenerative nodules?
A form of non-neoplastic nodules that arise in a cirrhotic liver.
What is cirrhosis?
Scarring (fibrosis) of the liver caused by long-term liver damage –> imbalance between hepatocyte regeneration and failure to reconstruct the architecture
What is contact inhibition?
A regulatory mechanism that keeps cells growing into a layer one cell thick. If a cell has plenty of available substrate space, it replicates rapidly and moves freely. This process continues until the cells occupy the entire substratum.
How do labile cells use contact inhibition?
Cells at edge of defect multiply to cover. Proliferation stops once the cells cover defect.