Week 34- Autoimmunity and Joints Flashcards
How abundant is collagen in humans?
25% of body protein
What impact does arrangement of collagen fibres have?
Linear –> tendon –> ligament
Random arrangements –> loose connective tissue
What are some characteristic of collagen?
Insoluble
Stable
Long biological half life (cartilage collagen 117 years, skin collagen 15 years)
High tensile strength or contractibility
What is the primary structure using collagen as an example?
Primary structure is the amino acid sequence
In collagen it has the following (Gly-X-Y)n at its core (X and Y commonly proline and hydroxyproline)
What is the secondary structure using collagen as an example?
Local folding of the amino acid chain:
In collagen –> arranged as a left handed helix (alpha chain) with three amino acids per turn with glycine as every first amino acid. Each helix is a monomer of collagen
What is the tertiary- Quarternary structure using collagen as an example?
Each monomer forms a triple helix –> these are wrapped around each other to form a triple stranded helical rod (Tropocollagen)
What is the sequence of events for collagen synthesis? (7 steps)
- First synthesised in the rough ER as pre-pro-collagen alpha chain mainly of a repeating tripeptide (Gly-X-Y)
- Hydrophobic sequence is cleaved to produce the pro-collagen alpha chain
- Pro-collagen chain is hydroxylated on the prolines (X) and Lysines (Y)
- Alpha chain is then glycosylated and three alpha chains then form a timer (triple helix)
- Trimer is secreted (exocytosis) and the ends are cleaved –> leaving behind the insoluble tropocollagen
- Lysyl oxidases then covalently crosslinks the tropocollagens by the hydroxylsines to produce collagen fibrils
- Fibrils aggregate to form final bundles of collagen
What is the key stages of collagen synthesis?
- Posttranslational modification and folding of procollagen
- Cleavage of procollagen and formation of collagen fibrils
- Collagen processing (cross linking)
What are the three major categories of connective tissue?
- Connective tissue proper (CTP)
- Fluid connective tissue (FCT)
- Supporting connective tissue (SCT)
Examples of connective tissue proper?
- Loose –> areolar, reticular, adipose
2. Dense –> regular, irregular, elastic
Example of Fluid connective tissue?
Blood
Example of supportive connective tissue?
Cartilage and Bone
What is the common tissue of origin for all connective tissue?
Mesenchyme
What are the three structural elements of connective tissues?
- Cells
- Ground substance –> unstructured material that fills space between cells
- Fibres –> reticular, elastic, collagen
What connective tissue types are needed for ECM?
Fibres and Ground substance –> not cells
What are the different classifications for cells of the connective tissue?
- Fixed cells –> such as fibroblasts and adipose cells
2. Wandering cells –> derived from bone marrow and reach connective tissue via peripheral circulation (immune cells)
What is the main role of fibroblasts?
Maintain structural integrity on connective tissue by continuously secreting a non rigid ECM rich in collagen –> causing a continuously remodelling of the ECM as they produce to replace the degradation.
What is the role of the fibroblasts when a tissue is injured?
Nearby fibroblasts proliferate and migrate into the wound
Produce large amounts of collagenous matrix
Helps isolate and repair damaged tissue
What cells produce ground substance?
Fibroblasts
What is the composition of ground substance?
- Interstitial fluid
- Adhesion proteins (fibronectin and laminin)
- Proteoglycans (proteins covalently attached to glycoaminoglycans and multiple sites)
What is the role of the ground substance?
- Dictates the hardness and viscosity of a tissue
- Regulates the movement of substances between cells –> (acts as a molecular sieve for nutrients and metabolite diffusion)
What kind of cartilage is on the articulations of a joint?
Hyaline
What does joint cartilage consist of and importantly what is absent?
Consists of –> specialised cells (chondrocytes) embedded in a matrix of fibrous collagen within a concentrated water-peptidoglycan “gel”
Devoid of –> blood vessels, lymphatics and nerves
What % of tissue volume does chondrocytes take up in a joint and what is their role?
5%
Maintains matrix via secretions and turnover –> chondrocytes synthesise and degrade the matrix via regulation by mechanical stress on the joint and factors/hormones in the synovial fluid
What is the critical role of the functional matrix within a joint?
Chondrocytes support and survival:
1. Cells need to resist high levels of mechanical stress 2. Metabolites and nutrients must be able to diffuse through matrix 3. Contains proteoglycans to give structural integrity
What forces can collagen deal with and not deal with?
Can –> compressibility and elasticity
Can’t –> shear or hold tension
What are Proteoglycans?
Large macromolecules consisting of a protein core to which are attached multiple chains of glycosaminoglycans and oligosaccharides
What is the function of proteoglycans within a joint?
- Structural building blocks of connective tissue
- Serve as joint lubricant
- Negative charge on the repeating glycosaminogylcan units attract water –> serve as cushion for impact by absorbing and deabsorbing water
What is the most well studied proteoglycan?
Arregcan –> found alongside collagen as the main component of cartilage
What shape do proteoglycans composed of branching glycosaminoglycans (GAGs)?
Bottle brush shape
What is the steps in cartilage homeostasis during joint mobility?
- Proteoglycans (aggrecan) and GAGs
- Joints are compressed –> water is released (aids joint lubrication)
- When joint is in resting position water interacts again with GAGs
What is the role of bones?
- Very dense, specialised connective tissue
- Supports and protects
- Provides levers for muscles to act on
- Stores calcium and phosphorus
- Marrow inside bone site of haematopoiesis
What is bone matrix comprised of?
60% solid mineral particles (Calcium phosphate as hydroxyapatite) (resists compression)
Contains overlapping type I collagen fibrils which resist pulling forces
What bone cells are within the channels through bones hard ECM?
Osteoclasts and Osteoblasts
What is the general steps in bone homeostasis?
- Blood calcium dictates bone metabolism
- Low blood calcium –> PTH is released –> increased osteoclast activity
- High blood calcium –> calcitonin is released –> stimulates calcium salt deposition in bone
- Blood calcium levels return to normal range
What are ligaments?
Tough fibrous band of connective tissue that serves to support the internal organs and hold bones together in proper articulation at the joints
What are ligaments composed of?
Composed of dense fibrous bundles of collagenous fibres and spindle-shaped cells known as fibrocytes, with little ground substance.
What are the role of ligaments at a joint?
At joints, ligaments form a capsular sac that encloses the articulating bone ends and a lubricating membrane, the synovial membrane
What is Osteoarthritis?
degeneration of joint cartilage and the underlying bone, most common from middle age onward. It causes pain and stiffness, especially in the hip, knee, and thumb joints
What are some contributing factors to Osteoarthritis?
- Ageing
- Genetic factors
- Trauma
- Immune system
- Infection
What are the three stages of Osteoarthritis?
Stage 1 –> Proteolytic breakdown of the cartilage matrix
Stage 2 –> fibrillation and erosion of cartilage surface, with subsequent release of proteoglycan and collagen fragments into the synovial fluid.
Stage 3 –> breakdown products of cartilage induce a chronic inflammatory response in the synovium
What is the primary target of osteoarthritic cartilage degradation?
The ECM of the articular cartilage (crucial for the biomechanical properties of the joint)
What are the two phases of the degradation of cartilage in Osteoarthritis?
Biosynthetic phase
Degradative phase
What are the steps in the biosynthetic phase of OA degradation?
- Functional extracellular matrix is disturbed by physical/ molecular means (affects chondrocyte metabolism
- Chondrocytes attempt to repair the matrix through synthesising
- New synthesis does not result in repair due to ECM complexity and newly synthesised molecules often are damaged/altered
What are the steps in the degenerative phase of OA degradation?
- OA chondrocyte metabolism altered –> matrix degrading proteases upregulated
- Normal matrix synthesis is inhibited
- More ECM loss than synthesis
- Severe biochemical changes in cartilage matrix:
- Reduced GAGs
- Reduced binding of GAGs to collagen
- Changes in water content
- Results in less cushion effect –> further injury
- Vicious cycle
What is immune tolerance?
Failure to mount an immune response to an antigen
What is the two arms of immunological tolerance?
Central
Peripheral
What is Central tolerance?
- Occurs during lymphocyte development
- T and B progenitors are produced with a broad array of antigen receptors (TCR and IgM)
- Cells with self reactive TCRs are removed
Where does negative selection occur for T cells vs B cells?
T cells = thymus
B cells = bone marrow
What is peripheral tolerance?
It is a further level of selection when T cells pass the central tolerance and occurs in the peripheries of the body.
What is APC?
Antigen presenting cell
What is the three mechanisms by which peripheral tolerance can function?
- Anergy –> APC signalling via CTLA provides “off signals” to T cell
- –> T cell remains in circulation but is functionally unresponsive to antigen
- Deletion –> APC provide death signal –> T cell undergoes apoptosis
- Suppression -> activation of regulatory T cells (Tregs) limits activation of reactive T cells
Under what situation does Deletion peripheral tolerance happen?
Occurs during persistent/ repeated stimulation as a mechanism to prevent hyper-reactivity
Is restoring tolerance a potential treatment for autoimmune disease?
Yes
How does peptide-induced tolerance work to restore tolerance?
- Soluble peptide that targets auto-reactive T-cells is delivered
- Apoptosis or Anergy results
What does antigen-coupled cell-induced tolerance achieve?
- T cell tolerance
2. Activates Th2 and Treg cells to supress autoimmune inflammation
What does Altered peptide ligand (APL)- induced tolerance achieve?
- Activates Th2 and Treg cells with overlapping specificity
- Leads to suppression of autoimmune inflammation
What happens when tolerance fails?
Autoimmune disease
What is thought to initially induce an autoimmune disease?
An initial stressor (trigger) –> triggers can also exacerbate existing autoimmune disease
What does the adaptive immunity involve activation and signalling between?
- APC and antigen specific T cells
2. Antigen specific T cells and B cells
What are some mechanisms that autoimmunity can be triggered by?
- Sequestered antigen
- Molecular mimicry
- Bystander Activation
- Altered Cytokine Activation
- Environmental triggers (lack of childhood exposure)
- Epitope spreading
What is the mechanism of sequestered antigen triggered autoimmunity?
- Some tissues are “immune privileged” –> immune cell migration into these tissues is limited –> limited tolerance occurs to tissue-specific antigens (autoimmunity not selected well here) These tissue specific antigens are hidden within these tissues
- Disruption to the tissue barrier
- Tissue specific antigens are released
- Carried to the lymph nodes (where T-cells are activated)
- Effector T-cells return to the tissue and again encounter this antigen and begin an autoimmune attack
What is the mechanism of Molecular mimicry triggered autoimmunity?
- Some antigens generate adaptive immune responses that are “cross reactive” with self antigen (self antigens share structural similarity with the antigen)
- An adaptive immune response develops against the pathogen
- The immune response also acts against self-antigens as they are similar
- Autoimmunity continues after the original infection is cleared
What is the mechanism of Bystander activation triggered autoimmunity?
- Inflammatory mediators are released during infection
- Mediators activate dendritic cells
- Dendritic cells provide danger signals to activate antigen presentation against the pathogen
- Bystander dendritic cells (close by) which are presenting self antigen are activated
- Leads to activation of self-reactive T cells (autoimmune tissue damage)
What is the mechanism of Altered Cytokine Activation triggered autoimmunity?
- Increased inflammatory cytokine levels –> increased adaptive immune activation
- Decreased anti-inflammatory cytokine levels –> reduces tolerance mechanisms
What effects can cytokines have on the immune system?
Both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory depending on what cytokine
What are the two ways auto immune diseases differ?
- Type of adaptive immune response –> T cell mediated or antibody mediated
- Target antigen –> Tissue localisation or expressing cell type
What are the broad classifications of autoimmunity disease?
- Local/Organ specific –> single tissue/organ eg Type 1 diabetes –> targets insulin producing islet cells in the pancreas.
- Systemic –> targets multiple tissues/organ systems throughout the body –> eg systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) -> targets histones or DNA found in all cell types.
What does connective tissue contain?
Extensive ECM to support and protect organs
What is the antigen in Rheumatoid arthritis?
Within joint/ bone –> specific antigen is unknown
On immune activation in RA what happens?
- Localised damage within the joint synovium attracts the immune cells
- Auto-reactive CD4+ T cells activation –> activated tissue macrophages
- Inflammatory cytokine release causes ongoing tissue damage:
- Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) stimulates inflammation
- Matrix matalloproteinases (MMPs) degrade ECM
- RANK ligand activates osteoclasts that dissolve bone
What is systemic lupus erythematosus?
Chronic autoimmune disease that effects multiple body systems
What is the prevalence of systemic lupus?
- Rare disease (0.1% total pop)
- Increased prevalence in indigenous Australians and descendants from south east Asia
- 90% of cases are in women
What are some symptoms of systemic lupus?
- Relapsing/remitting pattern of symptoms
- Malaise, fatigue, fever, weight loss
- Intermittent arthritis (95% of cases)
- Cutaneous erythramatosus rash (butterfly facial rash)
- Nephritis
- Anaemia
What testing is done for diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)?
- Autoantibody testing:
- Anti-nuclear antibody (ANA)
- Anti-dsDNA antibody (dsDNA) - Low complement levels in blood