tissues Flashcards
What is tissue, cellular and sub-cellular structure?
- tissues = how cells combine with EC material and each other to form tissue
- cellular = cell shape and organisation of components to support function
- sub-cellular = organelles
What are the four main tissue types in the body?
- connective
- nervous
- muscle
- epithelial
What are the two main components of tissue?
- cells
- ECM (highly-organised molecules formed by cells to influence complex structure)
What are the two functions of the ECM?
- mechanical support
- nutrients and metabolite exchange
What are the five stages of preparing a specimen for microscopy?
(SPSSM)
- specimen dissection
- preparation
- sectioning
- staining
- microscopy
(16-48 hrs)
What is the aim of tissue processing?
to embed tissue in medium firm enough to support and enable cutting of thin sections
Summarise the main stages of tissue processing and the purposes of each one.
FDCESC
(Hint - Frances Does Crazy Expeditions So Cleverly)
- fixation: treated with chemical agent to prevent autolysis and shape changes i.e. aldehydes and ketones
- Dehydration: fixative + water removed from specimen and replaced with dehydration fluid (graded series from 10-100% ethanol)
- Clearing: dehydrating fluid replaced with miscible fluid (dehydrating fluid and embedding medium) using clearing agents i.e. zylene, tulouene, chloroform, benzene, petrol, histo-clear, histo-choice
- Embedding: tissues embedded with medium to provide support during sectioning i.e. plastic resin, paraffin wax (3 μm), polymerising resin
- Sectioning: cut using microtome, sectioned with cryostat (>6μm)
- Cryo-embedding: tissue samples snap frozen in LN₂/CO₂ and slides stored
Why is paraffin wax used for embedding?
- polycrystalline, elastic mixture with high MP
- increases hardness, improves ribboning and adhesion between specimen and wax
What are the three requirements for tissues after embedding stage?
- no clearing agent
- no dust particles
- rapidly-cooled to reduce wax crystal size
What is staining?
- permits examination of tissues by LM
- tissues and cells are translucent (>1 stain can be used)
What are most stains not compatible with?
paraffin wax
How are slides readied for examination?
CRSDCMC
- cleared in xylene
- rehydrated via (graded) alcohol series + washed
- stained
- dehydrated
- cleared with xylene
- mounted using xylene medium + coverslip
- cryo-embedded and stored
For each stain state the structures and the colours they are stained:
a) H and E
b) alcian blue
c) oil red o
d) masson’s trichrome
e) reticulin
f) periodic acid solution (PAS)
g) DAPI (4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole)
h) millers sirius red
a)
- (H) nucleus and proteins → blue
- (E) cytoplasm → pink
b)
- acid mucins + proteoglycans → blue
- nuclei → red/black
c)
- fat → brilliant red
- nuclei → blue
d)
- nuclei and basophilic structures → blue
- cytoplasm, muscle, erythrocytes, keratin → bright red
- collagen → green/blue
e)
- reticulin fibers → black
- collagen fibers → brown
- nuclei → pink
f)
- glycoproteins → magenta
- nuclei → blue
g)
- DNA and nuclei → blue
h)
- elastin → dark purple/black
- collagen → red/pink
- phase contrast → changes brightness for clarity
- collagen fibers → befringent (shadowy)
What is IHC?
- application of specific antibodies to tissue preparation
- for localization of specific antigens
What type of detection system is IHC and how is the antibody visualised?
- highly-sensitive
- using marker (i.e. fluorescent dye, colloidal gold)
What is the direct method of IHC?
- single-step
- use of directly-labelled primary antibody supplied to detect antigens within tissue
What is the indirect method of IHC?
- utilizes unlabeled primary antibody and secondary labelled antibody
- binds to it to detect tissue antigen
What is IHC antigen retreival?
- tissue antigens can be masked by tissue fixation
- different methods can be used to reveal antigen: enzymatic digestion, citric acid, EDTA, heat
What can be used for inhibition of endogenous tissue components (reactions during staining) and for the blocking of non-specific sites?
(HInt - sounds like Alvin)
- inhibition of endogenous tissue: 3% (v/v) H₂O₂ and 0.01 % (w/v) Avidin
- blocking of non-specific sites: 10% (v/v) normal serum
State some controls which can be used in IHC.
- positive control - tissue known to contain epitope
- diluent control - buffer only (tissue section known not to express target antigen)
- omission of primary antibody
- omission of secondary antibody
- isotype antibody - isotype of antibody used to bind to same antigen (see if it binds/not)
Give examples of IHC
- collagen type IV: collagenfound in basal lamina
- α-Gal; carbohydrate in mammalian cell membranes
- fluorescent examples: SM cells, DAPI and actin, human skin, E-cadherin
State pros and cons of IHC.
pros:
- high specificity for molecular species
- can be used for light, confocal, or electron microscopy
cons:
- time-consuming and expensive
- fixation can interfere with Ab (Alcian Blue) binding particularly with small molecules
- reproducibility - false positives due to cross-reactivity
- qualitative
What are the five types of microscopy.
CDKPF
- bright field/kohler illumination
- phase contrast
- differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopy
- fluorescence
- confocal
State the pros and cons of confocal microscopy.
pros: - excellent resolution in thick samples - greater number of flurophore as specific λs used to illuminate samples - collects light from a single focal plane cons: - photo-bleaching and phototoxicity - increased sensitivity to noise - technical method - labour-intensive
What is an ELIZA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay)?
- lab technique that uses antibodieslinkedtoenzymes
- to detect and measure the amount of substance in solution (i.e. serum)
- (can be sandwich, indirect or competitive)
Describe the ELIZA method and how it is used.
- can be used to detect both antibody and antigen
- relies on monoclonal antibodies
- enzyme’s activity used as “reporter” where enzymatic reaction produces coloured species
- unknown sample determined using standard curve
How is a indirect ELIZA or sandwich ELIZA carried out?
Hint - make a well, AB/A, 2 AB, S → colour and measure up
- antigen coated well
- wash - add specific antibody to be measured
- wash - add enzyme-conjugated secondary antibody
- wash - add substrate (S) and measure colour
- sandwich ELIZA is identical except step specific “antigen” is added in step 2
How is a competitive ELIZA carried out?
- incubate antibody with antigen to be measured
- add Ag-Ab mixture to antigen-coated well
- wash - add enzyme-conjugated secondary antibody
- wash - add substrate (S) and measure colour
What is CT?
- diverse, deep tissue never exposed to outside body derived from mesoderm
- can contain bone, blood and fat
What are the four main functions of CT?
SPSR
- support by binding tissues (e.g. cartilage)
- store nutritional substances (e.g. fat)
- produce protective and regulatory substances (ECM)
- repair (by replication)
Describe the cells and vascularisation of CT.
- sparsely cellular tissues
- cell adhesion mechanism (to ECM)
- highly vascularised and well-nourished – send nutrients to epithelium
What are the three types of fascia (framework of CT)?
- superficial fascia (betwe/ skin and organs)
- deep fascia (strong, fibrous internal membrane)
- subserous membrane (between serous membranes and deep fascia)
Classify the cell types in CT.
HInt - three types which are least to most solid
- CT proper → loose and dense CT
- fluid CT → blood and lymph
- supporting CT → cartilage and bone
What are the 3 basic components of any connective tissue?
- specialised cells (i.e. fibroblast, osteocyte)
- protein fibres (e.g. collagen)
- ground substance
Describe the ground substance found within CT.
- fills spaces between cells and surrounds all CT fibres (most of the CT volume)
- matrix (ECM) = fibres + ground substance
Name five examples of support cells found in CT.
(2x ‘-blast’- active, growing/secreting ECM)
(3x ‘-cyte’ quiescent (inactive/dormant)
(MACOF)
- fibroblasts
- chondrocytes
- osteocytes
- myofibroblasts
- adipocytes
Describe the three main CT fibres.
- collagen: long, straight, branched, strong, flexible
- reticular fibre: a network thinner than collagen which forms a branching interwoven framework
- elastic fibre: branched, wavy, recoils after being stretched
Classify CT into five groups.
- embryonic
- proper: loose, dense regular, dense irregular, elastic, reticular, adipose
- cartilage: hyaline, fibrocartilage, elastic
- bone
- vascular: blood
Describe embryonic CT.
- undifferentiated (mesenchyme)
- migrates interacts with other tissues during foetal development → forms organs
- some persists past embryonic period i.e. fibroblasts around blood vessels, umbilical cord
Describe CT proper.
Hint - it is the spindle tissue
- (spindle-shaped) fibroblast cells → produce collagen, elastic and reticular fibres
- loose flexible matrix
What are the functions of loose and adipose CT? Give an example for each.
(Hint - loose = joining and adipose = when we have no food left)
• loose CT:
- functions: binding and packing, flexible, strength in all directions
- i.e. skin to underlying muscle, surrounds blood vessels/nerves
• adipose CT:
- cells store fat droplets which act as food reserve, protect organs and insulate
- i.e. skin hypodermis, cardiac surface, breast, surrounding joints
State the arrangement of fibres in dense regular CT, dense irregular CT, elastic CT and reticular CT. Give an example for each.
• dense regular CT:
- densely-packed collagen fibres parallel to direction of force
- i.e. tendons and ligaments
• dense irregular CT:
- densely-packed, interwoven collagen fibres, strength in all directions
- i.e. skin dermis, submucosa of GI tract
• elastic CT:
- elastic fibres, irregular arrangement, yellow, stretch and recoil
- i.e. wall of large arteries, larynx, trachea, bronchial tubes
• reticular CT
- jelly-like matrix, woven network of reticular fibres
- i.e. forms framework of liver, spleen
Describe cartilage.
Hint - not blood but not altogether bone either
- supportive, protective CT with elastic properties
- but associated with bone and avascular (difficult to heal)
- contains chondrocyte cells
Describe the three types of cartilage and where they are found.
- hyaline cartilage: provides stiff, flexible support and reduces friction between bony surfaces
- located: between tips of ribs, sternum, at synovial joints, larynx, trachea, part of nasal septum - elastic cartilage: supports and tolerates distortion without damage
- located: auricle of ext. ear, epiglottis, auditory canal, cuneiform cartilage of larynx - fibrocartilage: resists compression limiting relative movement and prevents bone-to-bone contact
- located: pads within knee joint, between pubic bones and intervertebral discs
Describe bone CT.
- cells: osteoblasts, osteoclasts and osteocytes
- rigid (calcium phosphate) and flexible (collagen fibres)
- metabolically active with rich vascular supply
- can be compact (dense, hard outer layer)or spongy/cancellous (porous, vascular inner layer, contains blood cells)
Describe vascular CT (blood).
- contains: erythrocytes, leukocytes, thrombocytes (platelets)
- highly-specialised → viscous with liquid plasma matrix
What is epithelia?
- tissues that serve as protective and secretory layers
- formed into tightly-cohesive cellular sheets as components of bodily organs
What is the function of epithelia and what does it usually form the functional unit of?
- to cover/line body surfaces (e.g. alimentary canal, exocrine ducts)
- secretory glands i.e. salivary, mammary, sweat