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General Pathology - NEETMDS- courses
NEET MDS Lessons
General Pathology

Immunoglobulins. (Ig)

 These are made up of polypeptide chains. Each molecule is constituted by two heavy and two light chains, linked by disulfide (S-S) bonds. The h~ chains are of 5 types, with corresponding, types or  immunoglobulin. IgG (gamma), IgM (mu µ ), IgA(alpha α), IgD(delta ), IgE(epsilon)

Each of these can have light chains of either kappa (k) or lambda type.Each chain has a constant portion (constant for the subtype) land a variable portion (antigen specific).

Enzyme digestion can split the Ig molecule into.2 Fab (antibody binding) fragments and one Fc (crystallisable, complement binding ) fragment.

Characteristics of Immunoglobulin subclasses

I. Ig G:

(i) Predominant portion (80%) of Ig.

(ii) Molecular weight 150, 000

(iii) Sedimentation coefficient of 7S.

(iv) Crosses placental barrier and to extra cellular fluid.

  • (v) Mostly neutralising effect. May be complement fixing.

(vi) Half life of 23 days.

2.IgM :

(i) Pentamer of Ig.

(ii) Molecular weight 900, 000

(iii) 19S.

(iv) More effective complement fixation and cells lysis

(v) Earliest to be produced in infections.

(vi) Does not cross placental barrier.

(vii) Halflife of 5 days.

3. Ig A :

  • Secretory  antibody. Found in intestinal, respiratory secretions tears, saliva and urine also.
  • Secreted  usually as a dinner with secretory piece.
  • Mol. weight variable (160,000+)
  • 7 S to 14 S.
  • Half life of 6 days.

4.Ig D :

  • Found in traces.
  • 7 S.
  • Does not cross placenta.

5. Ig E

  • Normally not traceable
  • 7-8 S (MoL weight 200,000)
  • Cytophilic antibody, responsible for some hypersensitivity states,

Immunohistochemistry

 This is a method is used to detect a specific antigen in the tissue in order to identify the type of disease.

INFLAMMATION

Response of living tissue to injury, involving neural, vascular and cellular response.

ACUTE INFLAMMATION

It involves the formation of a protein .rich and cellullar exudate and the cardinal signs are calor, dolor, tumour, rubor and function loss

 

The basic components of the response are

Haemodynamic changes.

Permeability changes

Leucocyte events.

1. Haemodynamic Changes :

  • Transient vasoconstriction followed by dilatation.
  • Increased blood flow in arterioles.
  • More open capillary bed.
  • Venous engorgement and congestion.
  • Packing of microvasculature by RBC (due to fluid out-pouring)
  • Vascular stasis.
  • Change in axial flow (resulting in margination of leucocytes)

.2. Permeability Changes:

Causes.

  • Increased intravascular hydrostatic pressure.
  • Breakdown of tissue proteins into small molecules resulting in
  • increased tissue osmotic pressure.
  • Increased permeability due to chemical mediators, causing an
  • immediate transient response. .
  • Sustained response due to direct damage to microcirculation.

3. White Cell Events:

.Margination - due to vascular stasis and change in axial flow.

Pavementing - due to endothelial cells swollen and more sticky.

Leucocytes more adhesive.

Binding by a plasma component

Emigration - of leucocytes by amoeboid movement between endhothe1ial cells and beyond the basement membrane. The passive movement of RBCs through the gaps created during emigration is called diapedesis

Chemotaxis - This is a directional movement, especially of polymorphs and monocytes towards a concentration gradient resulting in aggregation of these cells at the site of inflammation. .Chemotactic agents may be:

  • Complement components. (C3and C5  fragments and C567)
  • Bacterial products.
  • Immune complexes, especially for monocyte.
  • Lymphocytic factor, especially for monocyte.

 Phagocytosis - This includes recognition, engulfment and intracellular degradation. It is aided by .Opsonins., Specific antibodies., Surface provided by fibrin meshwork.

Functions of the fluid and cellular exudate

1. Dilution of toxic agent.

2. Delivers serum factors like antibodies and complement components to site of inflammation.

3. Fibrin formed aids In :

  • Limiting inflammation
  • Surface phagocytosis
  • Framework for repair.

4. Cells of the exudate:

Phagocytose and destroy the foreign agent.

Release lytic enzymes when destroyed, resulting in extracellular killing of organisms- and digestion of debris to enable healing to occur

 

Nevus

A nevus refers to any congenital lesion of the skin, while a nevocellular nevus specifically refers to a benign tumor of neural crest-derived cells that include modified melanocytes of various shapes (nevus cells).
 - nevocellular nevi are generally tan to deep brown, uniformly pigmented, small papules with well-defined, rounded borders.
 - most nevocellular nevi are subdivided into junctional, intradermal, or compound types.
 - most nevocellular nevi begin as junctional nevi with nevus cells located along the basal cell layer producing small, flat lesions, which are only slightly raised. 
- junctional nevi usually develop into compound nevi as nevus cells extend into the underlying superficial dermis forming cords and columns of cells (compound: nevi at junction and in the dermis).
 - eventually, the junctional component of a nevocellular nevus is lost, leaving only nevus cells within the dermis, thus the term intradermal nevus.
 - junctional → compound → intradermal nevus.
 - although uncommon, certain nevi may evolve into a malignant melanoma, particularly those which are congenital and those which are referred to as dysplastic nevi.
 - a dysplastic nevus is commonly associated with patients who have multiple scattered nevi over the entire body (dysplastic nevus syndrome) with individual lesions that have a diameter greater than 1 cm.

Immunodeficiency

This may be :-

  • Congenital (Primary)
  • Acquired (Secondary)

Features : Complete or near complete lack of T & B lymphoid tissue. Fatal early in life Even with marrow grafting, chances of graft versus host reaction is high.

B. T Cell Defects :

  • Thymic dysplasia
  • Digeorge’s syndrome
  • Nazelof’s syndrome
  • Ataxia teltngiectaisa
  • Wiscott Aldrich’s syndrome

These  lessons show predominantly defective cell mediated immunity. But they may also show partial immunoglobulin defects cell mediated immunity. But they may also show partial immunoglobulin defects due to absence og T-B co-operation.

C. Humoral immunity defects.

Bruron type- aggammaglobulinaemia.

  • Dysgammaglobulinaemias-variable immunodeficiency’s of one or more classes.

Acquired deficiency

A. Immuno suppression by :

  • Irradiation.
  • Corticoids.
  • Anti metabolites.
  • Anti lymphocyte serum.

B. Neaplasia  of lymphoid system :

  • Hodgkin's and Non Hodgkin's lymphomas.
  • Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia..
  • Multime myeloma and other paraproteinaemias (normal immunoglobulins reduced in spite of hyperglobulinaemia).

c. excessive protein loss.

  • Nephrotic Syndrome.
  • Protein losing enteropathy.

Paget Disease (Osteitis Deformans) 

This unique bone disease is characterized by repetitive episodes of exaggerated, regional osteoclastic activity (osteolytic stage), followed by exuberant bone formation (mixed osteoclastic-osteoblastic stage), and finally by exhaustion of cellular activity (osteosclerotic stage). The net effect of this process is a gain in bone mass; however, the newly formed bone is disordered and lacks strength. Paget disease usually does not occur until mid-adulthood but becomes progressively more common thereafter. The pathognomonic histologic feature is a mosaic pattern of lamellar bone (likened to a jigsaw puzzle) due to prominent cement lines that haphazardly fuse units of lamellar bone. (Fig. 12-5) The axial skeleton and proximal femur are involved in the majority of cases. In patients with extensive disease, hypervascularity of the marrow spaces can result in high-output congestive heart failure. Cranial nerves impingement also occurs and can lead to head ache and auditory disturbances. Rarely Paget disease is complicated by bone sarcoma (usually osteogenic). 

Blastomycosis (North American Blastomycosis; Gilchrist's Disease)

A disease caused by inhalation of mold conidia (spores) of Blastomyces dermatitidis, which convert to yeasts and invade the lungs, occasionally spreading hematogenously to the skin or focal sites in other tissues.

Pulmonary blastomycosis tends to occur as individual cases of progressive infection

Symptoms are nonspecific and may include a productive or dry hacking cough, chest pain, dyspnea, fever, chills, and drenching sweats. Pleural effusion occurs occasionally. Some patients have rapidly progressive infections, and adult respiratory distress syndrome may develop.

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