Session 1: Cell Injury Flashcards
What kind of things can cause cell injury?
- hypoxia
- toxins
- physical agents (direct trauma, extremes of temperature, changes in pressure, electric currents)
- radiation
- microorganisms
- immune mechanisms
- dietary insufficiency and deficiencies, dietary excess
What is the difference between hypoxia and ischaemia?
Hypoxia - decreased oxygen supply
Ischaemia - decreased blood supply (can lead to hypoxia)
What are the different types of hypoxia? (4)
- hypoxaemic hypoxia
- Anaemia hypoxia
- Ischaemic hypoxia
- Histiocytic hypoxia
What are the causes of hypoxaemic hypoxia?
- Reduced inspired pO2 at altitude
2. Reduced absorption secondary to lung disease
What is anaemic hypoxia?
Decreased ability of haemoglobin to carry oxygen
What are the causes of anaemia hypoxia?
- Anaemia
2. CO poisoning
What are the causes of ischaemic hypoxia?
- Blockage of a vessel
2. Heart failure
What is histiocytic hypoxia?
The inability to utilise oxygen in cells due to disabled oxidative phosphorylation enzymes
What causes histiocytic hypoxia?
Cyanide poisoning
How does the immune system damage the body’s cells? (2)
- Hypersensitivity reactions - host tissue is injured secondary to an overly vigorous reaction
- Autoimmune reactions - immune system fails to distinguish self from non-self
Which cell components are most susceptible to injury? (4)
- Cell membranes
- Nucleus - DNA
- Proteins
- Mitochondria
What is happening at a molecular level in hypoxia when there is reversible injury? (3)
Level of oxidative phosphorylation decreases - ATP levels decrease
- Na-K pump functioning decreases - Na+ influx and H2O increases -> Cellular swelling
- Glycolysis increases - Anaerobic respiration increases lactic acid - pH falls -> clumping of nuclear chromatin
- Detachment of ribosomes - protein synthesis decreases - lipid deposition (fatty liver)
What happens at a molecular level in prolonged hypoxia when there is irreversible injury? (4)
Increased cytosolic Ca2+ levels activates many enzymes
- ATPase - decreased ATP
- Phospholipase - membrane digested
- Protease - disruption of membrane and cytoskeletal proteins (cell shape changes)
- Endonuclease - nuclear chromatin damage
What are free radicals?
Reactive oxygen species - single unpaired electron in outer orbit (want to gain an electron)
Give three examples of free radicals.
- OH. (hydroxyl)
- O2- (superoxide)
- H2O2
Where are free radicals usually locked away in cells?
Mitochondria
How are free radicals produced? (5)
- Normal metabolic reactions - oxidative phosphorylation
- Inflammation - oxidative burst of neutrophils
- Radiation
- Contact with unbound metals in the body (iron - haemachromatosis)
- Drugs and chemicals (liver’s P450 system
How does the body control free radicals? (3)
- Anti-oxidant system - Vitamins A, C, E ‘neutralise’ them
- Metal carrier and storage proteins - eg. transferrin
- Enzymes (neutralise them) - eg superoxide dismutase
How do free radicals injure cells? (3)
- Oxidative imbalance
- Lipids in cell membranes targeted - causes lipid peroxidation -> autocatalytic chain reaction
- Oxidation of proteins, carbohydrates and DNA (mutagenic, carcinogenic)
How can a cell protect itself against injury?
- Heat shock proteins - ‘mend’ mis-folded proteins and maintain cell viability
- Unfoldases or chaperonins
- eg ubiquitin
What do injured and dying cells look like under a light microscope?
- Injured: pale and swollen cytoplasm
- pyknosis: eosinophilic cytoplasm, clumped proteins
- karyorrhexis: nucleus broken up into bits
- karyolysis: nucleus dissolves away
What does reversible injury look like under an electron microscope? (7)
- Blebs - cytoskeleton broken down by proteases
- Generalised swelling
- Clumping of nuclear chromatin
- Autophagy by lysosomes (leakiness)
- ER swelling
- Dispersion of ribosomes
- Mitochondrial swelling
What does irreversible injury look like under an electron microscope? (5)
- Rupture of lysosomes and autolysis
- Nucleus (pyknosis, karyorrhexis or karyolysis)
- Lysis of ER
- Defects in cell membrane (holes)
- Myelin figures
How can cell death be diagnosed?
Dye exclusion test - cells with the dye in them are dead
What is oncosis?
Cell death with swelling - spectrum of changes that occur in injured cells prior to death
What is necrosis?
Morphological changes that occur in a living organism after a cell has been dead some time - seen after 12-24 hours
What are the different types of necrosis? (4)
- Coagulative
- Liquefactive
- Caseous
- Fat necrosis
What are some characteristics of coagulative necrosis? (2)
- Ischaemia of solid organs - lots of connective tissue
2. Protein clumping
What are some characteristics of liquefactive necrosis? (4)
- Loose tissues
- Presence of neutrophils (infection)
- Enzyme release (lysosomes)
- More Destruction rather than clumping
What does coagulative necrosis look like?
Cellular architecture somewhat preserved - “ghost outline” of cells
What does coagulative necrosis look like under a microscope?
- very pink staining of protein clumps
- cant see nuclei properly
- karyolysis
What is caseous necrosis?
- ‘Cottage cheese’ appearance
- between coagulative and liquefactive necrosis
- characteristic of tuberculosis
What does fat necrosis look like?
Little drops of wax
What is gangrene?
Necrosis visible to the naked eye
What is an infarction?
Ischaemic hypoxia results in reduced arterial blood flow (infarction) which leads to necrosis
What is an infarct?
Area of necrotic tissue