Vascular Flashcards
Define haemostasis
Haemostasis is the physiological response of blood vessels to injury, with the aim of preventing blood loss. Cooperation of platelets, proteins of coagulation cascade, and endothelial cells.
Define thrombosis
Inappropriately activated haemostasis
Define platelet
Discoid anuclear body produced by cytoplasmic fragmentation of megakaryocytes in bone marrow
What is the lifespan of a platelet?
7 days
What mediates platelet adherence to collagen?
Von Willebrand factor
What signals do platelets secrete after they adhere to collagen?
chemical signals thromboxane A2, vasoactive amines 5HT, ADP
Which factors mediate platelet contraction and fusion?
Integrins esp alpha IIb beta3
JAMs Ig-Super-Family junctional adhesion molecules
ESAM endothelial cell-specific adhesion molecule
Kinase-ligand combination of eph and ephrin families
What do the integrins and eph/ephrins do?
signalling molecules. Cytoskeletal alterations (myosin dependent contraction) responsible for retraction of blood clot
What is purpura?
Bleeding from skin capillaries due to reduced platelet number
What is the primary haemostatic plug?
Platelets aggregated together with sufficient internal cohesion to resist dissolution by force of blood
What is the secondary haemostatic plug?
Fibrin strands created by the coagulation cascade making a meshwork with fused platelets
Which inhibitors of haemostasis do endothelial cells produce?
- NO, prostacyclin PGI2 which inhibit platelet aggregation
- Antithrombin – binds and inactivates thrombin. Antithrombin-thrombin complexes cleared in liver
- Tissue factor pathway inhibitor – blocks activation of factor X by tissue factor
- Thrombomodulin – changes conformation of thrombin so it is less able to cleave fibrinogen during coagulation cascade, instead activates protein C which inactivates factors V and VIII
- Protein S cofactor for protein C
How do damaged cells promote haemostasis?
Exposed tissues activate platelets and coagulation cascade
Synthesise
1. Von Willebrand factor
2. Tissue factor
3. Express binding sites that increase activity of coagulation factors IX and X
Define thrombus
Mass formed from blood constituents within the circulation during life. Fibrin and platelets, with entrapped red and white blood cells.
Define blood clot
Formed in static blood, involves predominantly the coagulation system without interaction of platelets with the vessel wall e.g. post mortem. Random mixture of blood cells suspended in serum proteins
Compare and contrast the structure of blood clots and thrombi
Blood clot = soft, jelly-like and unstructured.
Arterial thrombus = compact, granular, firm. Contain laminations of pale layers of fibrin/platelets, and dark layers with more erythrocytes. Lines of Zahn.
Venous thrombus = pale head with little evidence of lamination, still platelets and fibrin. Red tail due to many enmeshed red cells (going towards the heart)
What causes changed flow in arteries/cardiac chambers and veins?
Arteries/cardiac chambers = turbulence (narrowing/aneurysms/MI/arrhythmia/valvuar disease)
Veins = stasis (right heart failure, immobilisation, compressed veins, varicose veins, increased viscosity of blood)
Which veins are most commonly thrombosed?
Pelvic and deep and superficial leg veins
What does antithrombin III do?
Inhibit haemostasis
XIIa, XIa, IXa, XIIIa, Xa, thrombin?
What does protein C do?
Inhibit factor V and VIII
What does thrombomodulin do?
Inhibit thrombin from converting fibrinogen to fibrin
Allow thrombin to activate protein C
What are the lines in thrombi called and what are they?
Lines of Zahn
Dark = erythrocytes
Light = fibrin and platelets
Define embolus
Intravascular solid, liquid, or gaseous gas carried by blood flow from its point of origin to impact at a distant site.
Where do most emboli lodge?
Systemic veins e.g. leg and pelvis or right side of heart –> pulmonary artery
Left side of heart and aorta –> systemic arterial system –> brain, spleen, kidney, gut, legs etc.
What can infected emboli cause?
Pyaemia (septicaemia) with abscess formation where they lodge
What can a pulmonary embolus cause?
Hypoxia, P infarction, reduced CO, right heart failure, shock, death
What are the 3 layers of an arterial wall and briefly describe them?
- Intima: endothelium and basement membrane
- Media: layers of perforated elastic laminae with smooth muscle cells between. Bounded by internal and external elastic laminae.
- Adventitia: connective tissue, fibroblasts, macrophages, nerves, lymphatic, vasa vasorum supplying the artery wall.
What is the lifetime of an endotheial cell?
> 5 years
What type of artery is the aorta?
Large
Elastic
What type of artery are coronary arteries?
Medium
Muscular
Define atherosclerosis
Disease of the intima of large and medium sized arteries
Lesions are focal thickenings of the intima called plaques– deposits of fibrous tissues and lipids
Define arteriosclerosis
Loss of elasticity and physical hardening of the arterial wall from any cause, often associated with calcification of the wall
What are the major positive risk factors for atherosclerosis?
- Hyperlipidaemia
- Smoking cigarettes
- Hypertension
- Diabetes mellitus
What are the minor risk factors for atherosclerosis?
- Age
- Family history
- Male
- High fat diet
- Stressful and sedentary lifecycles
- Obesity
- Alcoholism
- Low birth weight
- Low socioeconomic status
- Infections (maybe chlamydia)
What are the negative risk factors for atherosclerosis?
- High levels HDL
- Moderate alcohol consumption 2 units/day
- Cardiovascular fitness
How do lipoproteins transfer the lipids they carry into cells?
- LDL receptor pathway - responsible for cholesterol breakdown.
- Scavenger receptor pathway - macrophages take up lipoproteins that have been modified, leads to uncontrolled accumulation of cholesterol. Then macrophages called foam cells.
What are foam cells?
Macrophages that have taken up a fuckton of lipoproteins via the scavenger receptor pathway
What is dyslipoproteinaemia?
Abnormality in the constitution/concentration of lipoproteins in the blood
What causes dyslipoproteinaemia?
- Familial - FH (mutations in LDL receptor pathway)
2. Secondary - diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism
Which genetically engineered mice developed advanced atherosclerotic lesions?
ApoE or LDL receptor deficient
Which genetically engineered mice had reduced development of atherosclerosis?
Deficient for scavenger receptors SR-A or CD36 (moderate reduction)
Mice that cannot store cholesterol due to deficiency in ACAT acyl-cholesterol acyl-transferase
How does atherosclerosis develop?
- Endothelial cell injury or dysfunction
- Monocyte migration into plaque and maturation into macrophages
- Smooth muscle cell activation
- Lipoprotein infiltration
- T lymphocyte migration into the plaque
- Platelet adherence
How does endothelial cell injury or dysfunction lead to atherosclerosis?
• Haemodynamic forces (hypertension, branch points) chemical injury (cigarette smoke, oxidised lipoproteins)
increased conc LDL – at high concs toxic, at low concs angiogenesis, increased permeability so increased lipid infiltration, increased adhesion molecule expression (P and E selectin, VCAM-1, ICAM-1), increased chemokine/mitogen expression (MCP-1 monocyte chemoattractant protein), IL1 and IL8, increased LDL oxidation, increased thrombosis
How does monocyte migration lead to atherosclerosis?
Develop into macrophages and become foam cells. Increase MCP-1 expression and chemokine receptor expression CCR2 and CXCR2, present antigen to T cells, activate endothelial cells via IL1 TNFalpha VEGF, oxidise and uptake lipids via scavenger receptors, activate smooth muscle cells via PDGF and ROS, modify matrix with collagenase, promote coagulation through release of tissue factor
How does activating smooth muscle contribute to atherosclerosis?
macrophages, platelets and endothelial cells –> PDGF, FGF, ROS –> activate vascular smooth muscle cells –> proliferate –> migrate into intima –> change into a matrix producing synthetic phenotype (from a contractile phenotype) secrete ECM –> release enzymes like collagenase that assist in matrix remodelling.
How does lipoprotein infiltration contribute to atherosclerosis?
LDL oxidised in plaques by ROS intermediates and enzymes released by platelets, macrophages and endothelial cells. Oxidised lipoproteins chemoattractant for monocytes, phagocytosed by macrophages which become foam cells, stim plaque cells to release cytokines and growth factors, induce dysfunction/apoptosis in smooth muscle, macrophages and endothelium, may be immunogenic, inhibit plasminogen activation
Name a couple of anti-oxidants
Vitamin E, NO
How does T-lymphocyte infiltration into the plaque contribute to atherogenesis?
May recognise Ag such as oxidised lipoproteins, and subsequently activate immune responses and cytotoxic killing of cells in the plaque
How does platelet adherence contribute to atherogenesis?
Early: platelets adhere transiently to the injured epithelium and release PDGF platelet derived growth factor which can activate smooth muscle cells
Advanced lesions: also involved in thrombosis that occurs if plaques ulcerate or rupture
What are fatty streaks?
Found from second decade of life throughout the vascular tree
Microscopically are clusters of lipid-laden smooth muscle cells and foam cells
No significant pathology themselves
What are fibro-fatty atherosclerotic plaques?
Raised white-yellow plaques that may coalesce
Microscopically media atrophic/thinned with 3 regions
1. Fibrous cap on extreme intimal surface of plaque
2. Lipid core
3. Shoulder
What makes up the fibrous cap?
Collagen, smooth muscle cell, mphages, T lymphocytes
What makes up the lipid core?
Foam cells, in more advanced lesions necrotic debris and extracellular lipid (especially cholesterol)
What makes up the shoulder?
The shoulder of the cap
Foam cells, smooth muscle cells, T cells, new blood vessels (angiogenesis)
What can complicate a plaque?
- Calcification
- Haemorrhage from new vessels
- Rupture/ulceration esp if plaque rich in leucocytes or show haemorrhage –> thrombolism or embolization
- Aneurysms due to thinning of intima
What are the important consequences of atherosclerosis?
Ischaemic heart disease –> angina, MI, cardiac failure
Peripheral vascular disease –> intermittent claudication and gangrene
Cerebrovascular disease –> transient ischaemic attacks and stroke
Aneurysms
Renal failure
Define ischaemia
Inadequate local blood supply to an organ (so an insufficient quantity of blood)
Define infarction
Necrosis due to ischaemia
What are the causes of ischaemia?
- External occlusion of vessels, e.g. tumours, compression
- Internal stenosis or occlusion, e.g. atherosclerosis, thrombosis, embolism
- Spasm of vessel, e.g. frost bite due to cold
- Capillary blockage, e.g. sickle cell, cerebral malaria
- Shock
Define shock
Circulatory failure with low ABP
Causes impaired perfusion
What are the 4 types of shock?
- Cardiogenic
- Hypovolaemic
- Septic
- Anaphylactic
List tissues in decreasing order of sensitivity to ischaemia
- Neurons (3 min)
- Renal PT epithelium
- Myocardium (20 min)
- Skeletal muscle - less sensitive, capable of anoxic work
- Fibroblasts and macrophages (insensitive)
What decides the susceptibility of organs to ischaemia?
- Collateral circulation reduces susceptibility, may be there normally or may develop if slowly progressing arterial narrowing
- Dual blood supply e.g. lungs pulmonary and bronchial, liver hepatic portal vein hepatic artery, brain circle of Willis
- Single/functional end arteries very susceptible to ischaemia e.g. kidney, spleen
What decides the outcome of ischaemia?
- Anatomy of blood supply to organ
- Size of block
- Degree of block
- Speed of onset
- Persistence of block
- Vulnerability of tissue
- Demand of tissue (e.g. angina on exertion)
- General adequacy of circulatory system)
What is the outcome of ischaemia?
Can have
- No effect
- Functional defects e.g. dysrhythmia, renal insufficiency
- Reversible cell damage e.g. cell swelling, fatty change in myocardium and hepatocytes
- Infarction
- Ischaemic reperfusion injury