Wound Healing Flashcards
What are the phases of wound healing?
- haemostasis
- inflammation
- repair
- remodelling
There are defined boundaries between each phase of healing. True or false
False
The wound healing process should be regarded as a series of ________ as opposed to a sequence of events
series of transitions
How does the healing process differ between the placement of resorbable and non-resorbable sutures ?
In non-resorbable sutures:
* the process of hemostasis and inflammation are followed by provisional matrix formation (as occurs in normal tissue)
* however as opposed to scarring, the process ends in a fibrous encapsulation of the implant
In resorbable sutures:
* there is a heightened inflammatory phase (required to break down/tackle the suture) as the degradation products are cleared
* there is no fibrous encapsulation phase as the bulk of the suture degrades
What is the duration of hemostasis?
seconds to hours
What are the earliest signals of tissue injury?
release of molecules such as ATP and the exposure of collagen on the blood vessel wall
What role does platelet activation play in the inflammatory phase?
platelet activation causes the release of a number of signalling molecules such as PDGF, TFG-beta and VEGF from their cytoplasmic granules.
Inflammatory and reparative cells are chemotactically attracted to this resevoir of molecules stored within the clot and thus gives rise to inflammation
TGF - transforming growth factor
VEGF- vascular endothelial GF
What is the aim of inflammation in the healing process?
acts to contain, neutralise or dilute the injury causing agent or lesion
How is inflammation initiated?
by the release of signalling molecules from the wound site during hemostasis
Describe the tissue environment in which inflammation begins
- mixture of injured tissue
- components of the clot (platelets, RBCs and fibrin)
- extravasated serum proteins
- foreign materials introduced at the time of injury e.g. suture
How do components of the complement system contribute to the inflammatory process?
complement fragments such as C5a and less potently C3A and C4a are important inflammatory activators which can induce vascular permeability, recruitment and activation of phagocytes
How can members of the complement system be activated?
They are activated by foreign surfaces such as an implant (suture?) or a microbial cell wall
What type of inflammatory cells are first recruited to the site of injury?
Neutrophils
They are recruited within the first 24 hours
How are neutrophils attracted to the site of injury?
- chemoattractants released by platelets
- chemokines present on endothelial cell membranes
Where does the leukocyte receptor PSGL-1 bind ?
- binds to P-selectin expressed on both platelets and endothelial cells
What is the consequence of low affinity binding of PSGL-1 receptors to P-selectin?
facilitates rolling of flowing neutrophils and brief tethering of neutrophils to endothelial cells
What is the consequence of neutrophil rolling ? Briefly outline the sequence of events
Neutrophil rolling eventually leads to firm attachment to endothelial cells.
- chemoattractants suchs as IL-8 and macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP-1Beta) are released by endothelial cells.
- Neutrophils bind to these chemoattractants leading to Beta-2 integrins are activated as a result.
- beta-2 integrins bind to firmly endothelial ICAM-1
Following firm attachment of neutrophils on endothelial cells, briefly outline what occurs ?
- neutrophil extravasate through the vessel walls to the site of injury
- release of proteolytic enzymes for the digestion of foreign debris and killing bacteria
How are neutrophils able to kill bacteria?
- phagocytosis
- then superoxide and hydrogen peroxide production
What occurs following completion of wound decontamination?
- neutrophils undergo apoptosis within 24-48 hours
- replaced by extravasating monocytes and macrophages
What attracts monocytes and macrophages to the site of injury ?
futher release of MIP-alpha and beta, monocyte chemotractant protein-1 and chemotactic cytokine called RANTES by activated endothelial cells
Inflammation is continued 2-3 days following injury by…
monocytes which are recruited from the blood which differentiate into macrophages
State some pro-inflammatory cytokines released by macrophages once recruited to the site of injury
- IL-1
- TNF- alpha
What is the function of recruited macrophages at the site of injury?
removal of foreign debris
The duration of the presence of macrophages at the injury site is dependent on …
- the extent of injury
- amount of foreign and necrotic debris to be cleared
they can remain present for as long as a few months
Macrophages are believed to be more important than neutrophils for successful inflammation resolution. True or false. Briefly elucidate why this is thought to be the case
True
In studies where neutrophils are depleted, wound repair was not disturbed. However, when macrophages were removed, there was limited clearance of necrotic debris at the injury site
What is the contribution of mast cells in the inflammatory response?
release histamine and serotonin to enhance blood vessel permeability and macrophage migration
How is the inflammatory phase resolved?
By a mixture of anti-inflammatory cytokines
____ released by ____ is thought to be one of the major attentuators of inflammation.
TGF-beta released by macrophages
Briefly elucidate the “mechanism” by which TGF-beta is able to attenutate the inflammatory process
- it is involved in the promotion and recruitment of fibroblasts to push the wound healing response towards the repair phase
Give another example of a pro-wound healing factor produced by macrophages. How does it encourage the repair phase?
VEGF
It initiates angiogenesis within the hypoxic tissue environment
What is the duration of the repair phase?
days to weeks
Why is the overall tissue strength of a wound minimal during inflammation?
the normal functional strentgh of tissues is not regained until inflammation transitions to repair
The transformation from inflammation to repair is mediated by…
macrophages
The repair phase usually occurs ____ following the initial injury
1 week
Why is the repair phase essential to wound healing?
This is because it establishes the scaffold necessary to support and rebuild the damaged tissue
Tissue repair is characterised by…
- cell proliferation
- capillary budding
- synthesis of ECM
What is the purpose of ECM synthesis in wound healing?
it is used to fill in the damaged tissue that has been cleared during inflammation
Initially, the ECM material is usually made up of …
fibrinogen and fibronectin
After early matrix material has been synthesised, ground substance is made. What are the components of ground substance of the ECM ?
- proteoglycans
Proteoglycans are synthesised by…
fibroblasts
What are proteoglycans?
they are large macromolecules with a core protein and one or more covalently attached glycosaminoglycan molecules
Complete repair of injured tissue can only occur in what types of wounds? Why is this?
- it can only occur for shallow skin wounds
- this is because the surface epidermis layer can regenerate
- however, deep tissue wounds in which the dermis is lost will undergo secondary healing which requires excess ECM production. This leads to the formation of fibous scar tissue
What is the first stage of tissue repair?
stabilisation of the discontinuity created by the injury
What kind of tissue injury will undergo primary healing?
tissue that has little or no gap seperating the wound boundaries.
primary healing will occur from the apposed edges of the tissue
What kind of tissue injury will undergo secondary healing ?
- tissue that is unstable with a large gap
- discontinuity injury
What is secondary healing?
this is where excess ECM is produced to secure and fill the lesion