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Hyperplasia
o Increase in number of cells in response to a stimulus
o Frequently occurs w/ hypertrophy
o Physiologic Hyperplasia
Due to action of hormones or growth factors
When there is a need for inc. functional capacity of hormone sensitive organs (ex. breast @ pregnancy)
When there is a need for compensatory increase after damage/resection (ex. liver)
o Pathologic Hyperplasia
Caused by excessive or inappropriate action of hormones or growth factors
Ex. endometrial hyperplasia, benign prostatic hyperplasia
Hyperplasia regresses if hormonal stimulation is elminated, but can provide a backdrop for cancer
o Mechanisms of Hyperplasia
Result of growth-factor-driven proliferation of mature cells, or inc. output of new cells from stem cells
Atrophy
o Reduction in size of an organ or tissue due to decrease in cell size and number
o Physiologic atrophy common during normal development (ex. embryonic structures)
o Pathologic atrophy
Decreased workload (atrophy of disuse)
Loss of innervation (denervation atrophy)
Diminished blood supply (ex. senile atrophy of the brain and heart)
Inadequate nutrition (ex. protein-calorie malnutrition "marasmus" > muscle wasting "cachexia")
Loss of endocrine stimulation (ex. postmenopausal estrogen loss)
Pressure/tissue compression (likely result of ischemic changes due to compression of vasculature)
o Mechanisms of Atrophy
Results from decreased protein synthesis and inc. protein degradation in cells
Degradation of cellular proteins via ubiquitin-proteasome (activated by nutrient deficiency or disuse)
Can be accompanied by inc. autophagy (starved cell eats its own components to reduce nutrient demand)
Metaplasia
o Reversible change in which one differentiated cell type is replaced by another cell type
o Persistent stimulus and metaplasia > can lead to malignant transformation
o Most common = columnar to squamous (ex. respiratory tract in response to chronic irritation)
o Usually comes with a trade-off of functional loss in order to gain resistance to irritants
o Mechanisms of Metaplasia
Results from reprogramming of stem cells or undifferentiated mesenchymal cells
Differentiation due to signals by cytokines, growth factors, and ECM components in cell's environment
Vitamin A (retinoic acid) deficiency commonly linked to inc. metaplasia
Necrosis
o Denaturation of intracellular proteins and enzymatic digestion of lethally injured cell
o Cells unable to maintain membrane integrity > contents leak out > elicit inflammation
o Necrotic cells show increased eosinophilia and may be replaced by myelin figures (from damaged cell membranes)
o Nuclear changes
Karyolysis = loss of DNA due to enzymatic degradation by endonucleases
Pyknosis = nuclear shrinkage
Karyorrhexis = pyknotic nuclear undergoes fragmentation
o Patterns of Tissue Necrosis
Coagulative necrosis
Injury degrades enzymes > blocks proteolysis of dead cells > preserved architecture
Localized area of coagulative necrosis = "infarct"
Liquefactive necrosis
Digestion of dead cells > tissue transformed into liquid viscous mass ("pus")
Often manifested in the CNS
Gangrenous necrosis
Not a specific pattern, but used clinically to describe a limb (generally lower leg)
Bacterial infection superimposed > additional degradative enzymes > "wet gangrene"
Caseous necrosis
White, cheese-like appearance, common in tuberculous infection.
Necrotic area of fragmented/lysed cells and granular debris enclosed by border = "granuloma"
Fat necrosis
Refers to focal areas of fat destruction, but not a specific pattern
Results from release of activated pancreatic lipases into pancreas and peritoneal cavity
Liberated fatty acids combine with calcium > chalky-white areas of "fat saponification"
Fibrinoid necrosis
Usually seen in immune reactions involving blood vessels
Occurs when complexes of antigens/antibodies are deposited in walls of arteries
Immune complexes + fibrin that leaks from vessels > bright pink "fibrinoid"
Necrotic cells and cellular debris not promptly cleaned up > calcified > "dystrophic calcification"
Mitochondrial Damage
o Can be damaged by inc. cytosolic Ca++, ROS, and oxygen deprivation
o Consequences of mitochondrial damage:
Formation of mitochondrial permeability transition pore > failure of ox phos > drop in ATP > necrosis
Abnormal oxidative phosphorylation > ROS
Release pro-apoptotic proteins (cytochrome c) from between membranes > activate caspases > apoptosis
Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury
o Reperfusion can paradoxically exacerbate injury and cause cell death
o Oxidative stress due to incomplete reduction of O2 by damaged mitochondria or action of oxidases
o Intracellular calcium overload due to cell membrane damage and ROS injury to SR
o Inflammation due to cytokines, adhesion molecules, and danger signals from dead cells
o Activation of complement system due to IgM binding to ischemic tissues (for unknown reason)
Apoptosis
Programmed cell death > intrinsic enzymes degrade nuclear DNA and cellular proteins > break up into apoptotic bodies
Dead cells and fragments are rapidly phagocytized > doesn't elicit inflammatory reaction
Causes of Apoptosis
o Apoptosis in Physiologic Situations
Destruction of cells during embryogenesis
Involution of hormone-dependent tissues upon hormone withdrawal
Cell loss in proliferating cell populations (ex. lymphocytes that don't express useful antigen receptors)
Elimination of potentially harmful self-reactive lymphocytes
Death of host cells that have served their useful purpose (ex. neutrophils and lymphocytes)
o Apoptosis in Pathologic Conditions
DNA damage (ex. radiation, cytotoxic anticancer drugs, hypoxia)
Accumulation of misfolded proteins > ER stress (due to mutations in genes or extrinsic factors)
Cell death in certain infections (ex. adenovirus, HIV, viral hepatitis)
Pathologic atrophy in parenchymal organs after duct obstruction (ex. pancreas, parotid gland, kidney)
Necroptosis
o Resembles necrosis = loss of ATP, cells/organelles swell, generate ROS, release lysosozymes, rupture membrane
o Resembles apoptosis = triggered by genetically programmed signal transduction (but caspase-independent)
o TNF > TNFR1 > recruit receptor associated kinase 1 and 3 (RIP1 and RIP3) into multimer > metabolic alterations
o Occurs during formation of bone growth plate, cell death in steatohepatitis, acute pancreatitis, reperfusion injury,
and neurodegenerative diseases (ex. Parkinsons)
Pyroptosis
o Another form of programmed cell death, accompanied by release of fever inducing IL-1
o Cytoplasmic immune receptors activate inflammasome > activate caspase-1 > cleaves IL-1 precursor
o Caspase-1 and 11 also induce death of the cells
o Unlike apoptosis, involves swelling, loss of plasma membrane integrity, and release of inflammatory mediators
Autophagy
Cell eats its own contents by delivering cytoplasmic material to lysosome for degradation
o Chaperone-mediated autophagy: direct translocation across lysosomal membrane by chaperone proteins
o Microautophagy: inward invagination of lysosomal membrane for delivery
o Macroautophagy (aka autophaghy): sequestration and transportation of portions of cytosol in double-membrane
bound autophagic vacuole (autophagosome)
States of nutrient deprivation > starved cell lives by cannibalizing itself and recycling the digested content
LC3 (light chain 3) protein targets protein aggregates and worn out organelles for loading into autophagosome
Autophagy in disease
o Cancer = autophaghy can both promote and defend against cancers
o Neurodegenerative disorders = dysregulation of autophagy (Alzheimer = accelerated, Huntington = impaired)
o Infectious diseases = pathogens degraded by autophaghy > delivered to APCs
o Inflammatory bowel disease = linked to Crohn diseasea and ulcerative colitis
Intracellular Accumulations
Lipids
o Steatosis (Fatty Change)
Abnormal accumulation of triglyceride within parenchymal cells
Often seen in liver, but also occurs in heart, muscle, and kidneys
Caused by toxins, protein malnutrition, diabetes mellitus, obesity, and anorexia
Most commonly due to alcohol abuse and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (diabetes/obesity) in US
o Cholesterol and Cholesterol Esters
Atherosclerosis = macrophages in intimal layer of aorta and large aa. filled w/ lipid vacuoles (foam cells)
Xanthomas = foam cells in CT of skin and tendons
Cholesterolosis = cholesterol-laden macrophages in lamina propria of gallbladder
Niemann-Pick disease, type C = lysosomal storage disease > cholesterol accumulation in multiple organs
Proteins
o Appear as eosinophilic droplets, vacuoles, or aggregates in cytoplasm
o Reabsorption droplets in proximal renal tubules associated w/ proteinuria
o Overproduction of normal proteins > "Russell bodies" (hugely distended ER)
o Defective intracellular transport and secretion of critical proteins (misfolded proteins aren't excreted)
o Accumulation of cytoskeletal proteins (ex. neurofibrillary tangle in Alzheimer disease)
o Proteinopathies = aggregations of abnormal proteins deposited in tissues > interfere w/ fxn (ex. amyloidosis)
Hyaline Change
o Homogenous, glassy, pink appearance on H&E stain
o Produced by a variety of alterations
o Intracellular accumulation of protein = reabsorption droplets, Russell bodies, alcoholic hyaline
o Extracellular = walls of arterioles in long-standing HTN and diabetes mellitus
Glycogen
o Excessive intracellular deposits seen in pts w/ abnormality in either glucose or glycogen metabolism
o Masses appear as clear vacuoles in the cytoplasm
o Diabetes mellitus = glycogen found in renal tubular epithelial cells, within liver cells, cells of islets of Langerhans,
and heart muscle cells
o Accumulates in cells w/ glycogen storage diseases (aka glycogenoses) > cell injury/death
Pigments
o Exogenous Pigments
Most common = carbon
Inhaled > picked up by alveolar macrophages > transported to regional lymph nodes
Results in blackening of lungs (anthracosis) and involved lymph nodes
o Endogenous Pigments
Lipofuscin (lipochrome aka wear-and-tear pigment) = indicative of free radical injury
Melanin = only endogenous brown-black pigment
Hemosiderin = hemoglobin-derived, golden yellow/brown, granular or crystalline, storage form of iron
Pathologic Calcification
Dystrophic Calcification
o Encountered in areas of necrosis
o Appear as fine, white granules or clumps, intracellularly and/or extracellularly
o Over time, may form "heterotropic bone" in the focus of calcification
o Seeded crystals are encrusted by mineral deposits > progressive accumulation of outer layers "psammoma bodies"
o Serum calcium is normal
Metastatic Calcification
o May occur in normal tissues whenever there is hypercalcemia
Increased secretion of parathyroid hormone (parathyroid tumors, ectopic PTH secretions due to
malignant tumros) > bone resorption
Resorption of bone tissue due to bone marrow tumors (multiple myeloma, leukemia), diffuse skeletal
metastasis (breast cancer), accelerated bone turnover (Paget disease), or immobilization
Vitamin D-related disorders (vitamin D intoxication, sarcoidosis, Williams syndrome)
Renal failure > retention of phosphate > hyperparathyroidism
Less common = aluminum intoxication, milk-alkali syndrome (excess ingestion of Ca++ and antacids)
o Principally affects interstitial tissues of gastric mucosa, kidneys, lungs, systemic arteries, and pulmonary vv.
o May occur as noncrystalline amorphous deposits or as hydroxyapatite crystals
Cellular Aging
Progressive decline in cellular function and viability caused by genetic abnormalities
Accumulation of cellular and molecular damage due to exposure to exogenous influences
DNA damage
o Due to carcinogen exposure, sporadic errors, ROS > defective DNA repair > DNA damage persists and accumulates
o Ex. Werner syndrome = defective DNA helicase (used in repair) > premature aging
o Ex. Bloom syndrome and ataxiatelangiectasia = defective repair proteins > premature aging
Cellular senescence
o Cells have a limited capacity for replication > arrested in nondividing state after a fixed number of divisions
o Telomere attrition (progressive shortening) > cell cycle arrest
Due to inactivation of telomerase (normally maintains telomere length)
Cancer cells show reactivation of telomerase > proliferate indefinitely
o Activation of tumor suppressor genes (CDKN2A locus)
p16 aka INK4a = controls G1 and S phage progression > protects cells from uncontrolled division signals
Defective protein homeostasis
o Maintain proteins in folded conformations (chaperones) + degrade misfolded proteins (autophagy or ubiquitin)
o Both folding and degradation are impaired w/ aging
Deregulated nutrient sensing
o Eating less increases longevity (caloric restriction increases life span in all species)
o Insulin and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) signaling pathway = reduced by caloric restriction
IGF-1 produced in response to growth hormone secretion by the pituitary
IGF-1 informs cells of availability of glucose > promote anabolic state > cell growth and replication
Works via AKT and mTOR kinases (mTOR can also be inhibited by rapamycin)
o Sirtuins (NAD-dependent protein deacetylases) = increased by caloric restriction
Adapt bodily functions to environmental stresses (ex. food deprivation and DNA damage)
Promote expression of genes that increase longevity
Inhibit metabolic activity
Reduce apoptosis
Stimulate protien folding
Inhibit harmful effects of ROS
Also increase insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism