NEET MDS Lessons
General Pathology
Autoimmune Diseases
These are a group of disease where antibodies (or CMI) are produced against self antigens, causing disease process.
Normally one's immune competent cells do not react against one's own tissues. This is due to self tolerance acquired during embryogenesis. Any antigen encountered at that stage is recognized as self and the clone of cells capable of forming the corresponding antibody is suppressed.
Mechanism of autoimmunity
(1) Alteration of antigen
-Physicochemical denaturation by UV light, drugs etc. e.g. SLE.
- Native protein may turn antigenic when a foreign hapten combines with it, e.g. Haemolytic anemia with Alpha methyl dopa.
(2) Cross reaction: Antibody produced against foreign antigen may cross react with native protein because of partial similarity e.g. Rheumatic fever.
(3) Exposure of sequestered antigens: Antigens not normally exposed to immune competent cells are not accepted as self as tolerance has not been developed to them. e.g. thyroglobulin, lens protein, sperms.
(4) Breakdown of tolerance :
Emergence of forbidden clones (due to neoplasia of immune system as in lymphomas and lymphocytic leukaemia)
Loss of suppressor T cells as in old age and CMI defects
Autoimmunity may be
Organ specific.
Non organ specific (multisystemic)
I. Organ specific
(1) Hemolytic anaemia:
Warm or cold antibodies (active at 37° C or at colder temperature)
They may lyse the RBC by complement activation or coat them and make them vulnerable to phagocytosis
(2) Hashimoto's thyroiditis:
Antibodies to thyroglobulin and microsomal antigens.
Cell mediated immunity.
Leads to chronic. destructive thyroiditis.
(3) Pernicious anemia
Antibodies to gastric parietal cells and to intrinsic factor.
2. Non organ specific.
Lesions are seen in more than one system but principally affect blood vessels and
connective tissue (collagen diseases).
1. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Antibodies to varied antigens are seen. Hence it is possible that there is abnormal reactivity of the immune system in self recognition.
Antibodies have been demonstrated against:
Nuclear material (antinuclear I antibodies) including DNA. nucleoprotein etc. Anti nuclear antibodies are demonstrated by LE cell test.
Cytoplasmic organelles- mitochondria, rib osomes, Iysosomes.
Blood constituents like RBC, WBC. platelets, coagulation factors.
Mechanism. Immune complexes of body proteins and auto antibodies deposit in various
organs and cause damage as in type III hypersensitivity
Organs involved
Skin- basal dissolution and collagen degeneration with fibrinoid vasculitis.
Heart- pancarditis.
Kidneys- glomerulonephritis of focal, diffuse or membranous type
Joints- arthritis.
Spleen- perisplenitis and vascular thickening (onion skin).
Lymph nodes- focal necrosis and follicular hyperplasia.
Vasculitis in other organs like liver, central or peripheral nervous system etc,
2. Polyarteritis nodosa. Remittant .disseminated necrotising vasculitis of small and medium sized arteries
Mechanism :- Not definitely known. Proposed immune reaction to exogenous or auto antigens
Lesion : Focal panarteritis- a segment of vessel is involved. There is fibrinoid necrosis
with initially acute and later chronic inflammatory cells. This may result in haemorrhage
and aneurysm.
Organs involved. No organ or tissue is exempt but commonly involved organs are :
- Kidneys.
- Heart.
- Spleen.
- GIT
3. Rheumatoid arthritis. A disease primarily of females in young adult life.
Antibodies
- Rheumatoid factor (An IgM antibody to self IgG)
- Antinuclear antibodies in 20% patients.
Lesions
- Arthritis which may progress on to a crippling deformity.
- Arteritis in various organs- heart, GIT, muscles.
- Pleuritis and fibrosing alveolitis.
- Amyloidosis is an important complication.
4. Sjogren's Syndrome. This is constituted by
- Kerato conjunctivitis sicca
-Xerostomia
-Rheumatoid arthritis.
Antibodies
- Rheumatoid factor
- Antinuclear factors (70%).
- Other antibodies like antithyroid, complement fixing Ab etc
- Functional defects in lymphocytes. There is a higher incidence of lymphoma
5. Scleroderma (Progressive systemic sclerosis)
Inflammation and progressive sclerosis of connective tissue of skin and viscera.
Antibodies
- Antinuclear antibodies.
- Rheumatoid factor. .
- Defect is cell mediated.
lesions
Skin- depigmentation, sclerotic atrophy followed by cakinosis-claw fingers and mask face.
Joints-synovitis with fibrosis
Muscles- myositis.
GIT- diffuse fibrous replacement of muscularis resulting in hypomotility and malabsorption
Kidneys changes as in SLE and necrotising vasculitis.
Lungs – fibrosing alveolitis.
Vasculitis in any organ or tissue.
6.Wegener’s granulomatosis. A complex of:
Necrotising lesions in upper respiratory tract.
Disseminated necrotising vasculitis.
Focal or diffuse glomerulitis.
Mechanism. Not known. It is classed with autoimmune diseases because of the vasculitis resembling other immune based disorders.
Miscellaneous Bone Tumors
1. Ewing Sarcoma & Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor (PNET) are primary malignant small round-cell tumors of bone and soft tissue. They are viewed as the same tumor because they share an identical chromosome translocation; they differ only in degree of differentiation. PNETs demonstrate neural differentiation whereas Ewing sarcomas are undifferentiated. After osteosarcomas, they are the second most common pediatric bone sarcomas. Most patients are 10 to 15 years old. The common chromosomal abnormality is a translocation that causes fusion of the EWS gene with a member of the ETS family of transcription factors. The resulting hybrid protein functions as an active transcription factor to stimulate cell proliferation. These translocations are of diagnostic importance since almost all patients with Ewing tumor have t(11;22).
Pathological features
• Ewing sarcoma and PNETs arise in the medullary cavity but eventually invade the cortex and periosteum to produce a soft tissue mass.
• The tumor is tan-white, frequently with foci of hemorrhage and necrosis.
Microscopic features
• There are sheets of uniform small, round cells that are slightly larger than lymphocytes with few mitoses and little intervening stroma.
• The cells have scant glycogen-rich cytoplasm.
• The presence of Homer-Wright rosettes (tumor cells circled about a central fibrillary space) indicates neural differentiation, and hence indicates by definition PNET.
Ewing sarcoma and PNETs typically present as painful enlarging masses in the diaphyses of long tubular bones (especially the femur) and the pelvic flat bones. The tumor may be confused with osteomyelitis because of its association with systemic signs & symptoms of infection. X-rays show a destructive lytic tumor with infiltrative margins and extension into surrounding soft tissues. There is a characteristic periosteal reaction depositing bone in an onionskin fashion.
2. Giant-Cell Tumor of Bone (GCT) is dominated by multinucleated osteoclast-type giant cells, hence the synonym osteoclastoma. GCT is benign but locally aggressive, usually arising in individuals in their 20s to 40s. Current opinion suggests that the giant cell component is likely a reactive macrophage population and the mononuclear cells are neoplastic. Tumors are large and red-brown with frequent cystic degeneration. They are composed of uniform oval mononuclear cells with frequent mitoses, with scattered osteoclast-type giant cells that may contain 30 or more nuclei.
The majority of GCTs arise in the epiphysis of long bones around the knee (distal femur and proximal tibia).
Radiographically, GCTs are large, purely lytic, and eccentric; the overlying cortex is frequently destroyed, producing a bulging soft tissue mass with a thin shell of reactive bone. Although GCTs are benign, roughly 50% recur after simple curettage; some malignant examples (5%) metastasize to the lungs
Chronic hepatitis
Chronic hepatitis occurs in 5%-10% of HBV infections and in well over 50% of HCV; it does not occur in HAV. Most chronic disease is due to chronic persistent hepatitis. The chronic form is more likely to occur in the very old or very young, in males, in immunocompromised hosts, in Down's syndrome, and in dialysis patients.
a. Chronic persistent hepatitis is a benign, self-limited disease with a prolonged recovery. Patients are asymptomatic except for elevated transaminases.
b. Chronic active hepatitis features chronic inflammation with hepatocyte destruction, resulting in cirrhosis and liver failure.
(1) Etiology. HBV, HCV, HDV, drug toxicity, Wilson's disease, alcohol, a,-antitrypsin deficiency, and autoimmune hepatitis are common etiologies.
(2) Clinical features may include fatigue, fever, malaise, anorexia, and elevated liver function tests.
(3) Diagnosis is made by liver biopsy.
8. Carrier state for HBV and HCV may be either asymptomatic or with liver disease; in the latter case, the patient has elevate transaminases.
a. Incidence is most common in immunodeficient, drug addicted, Down's syndrome, and dialysis patients.
b. Pathology of asymptomatic carriers shows "ground-glass"" hepatocytes with finely granular eosinophilic cytoplasm.
Vitiligo is an autoimmune destruction of melanocytes resulting in areas of depigmentation.
- commonly associated with other autoimmune diseases such as pernicious anemia, Addison's disease, and thyroid disease.
- common in the Black population
Muscle pathology
1. Myasthenia gravis
a. An autoimmune disease caused by autoantibodies to acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junctions.
b. Characterized by muscle weakness or the inability to maintain long durations of muscle contractions; this worsens during exercise but recovers after rest.
c. Affects various muscle groups, including:
(1) Eyes—diplopia, ptosis.
(2) Neck—dysphagia, problems swallowing or speaking.
(3) Extremities—arms and legs.
d. Treatment: cholinesterase inhibitors(neostigmine), anti-immune therapy.
2. Muscle tumors
a. Rhabdomyoma—benign tumor of skeletal muscle.
b. Leiomyoma
(1) Benign tumor of smooth muscle.
(2) Most common tumor found in women.
(3) Usually affects the uterus, although it can occur anywhere.
c. Rhabdomyosarcoma
(1) Malignant tumor of skeletal muscle.
(2) Most common sarcoma found in children.
(3) Usually affects head and neck region—orbit, nasal cavity, and nasopharynx.
DYSPLASIA
It is disturbed growth or cells in regard to their size, shape arrangement. In its mild degrees it represents a reversible reaction to chronic inflammation whereas the most severe degrees warrant a labelling of intraepithelial neoplasia. Hence it includes a wide spectrum of changes ranging from a reversible disorientation to 'carcinoma-in-situ'.
Histologically it is characterized by:
o Basal cell hyperplasia.
o Variation in size and shape of cells.
o Disorderly maturation.
o Increased mitotic activity.
o Disorientation of arrangement of cells (loss of polarity)
Dysplasia is commonly seen in:
o Squamous epithelium of cervix.
o Bronchial epithelium in habitual smokers.
o Gastric and colonic mucosa in long standing inflammation
o Oral and vulval leucoplakia
Acute pericarditis
1. Characterized by inflammation of the pericardium.
2. Causes include:
a. Viral infection.
b. Bacterial infection, including Staphylococcus, Pneumococcus.
c. Tuberculosis.
d. MI.
e. Systemic lupus erythematosus.
f. Rheumatic fever.
3. Signs and symptoms include:
a. Pericardial friction rub on cardiac auscultation.
b. Angina.
c. Fever.
4. Consequences include constrictive pericarditis,which results from fusion and scarring of the pericardium. This may lead to the restriction of ventricular expansion, preventing the heart chambers from filling normally.