plasma

Question 1

what is the plasma % of blood’s total volume

Answer 1

55%

Question 2

what does the Buffy coat contain?

Answer 2

leukocytes and platelets

c. 1% of blood

Question 3

what is serum?

Answer 3

plasma minus clotting factors

Question 4

what do serum separator tubes (SSTs) have?

Answer 4

silica coating to induce clotting
gel layer to form a physical barrier between the cells and the serum

Question 5

functions of plasma?

Answer 5

immune defence- antibodies and complement proteins found in plasma

clotting- clotting factors and vWF

osmotic pressure maintenance - proteins like albumin

metabolism- glucose, amino acids and vitamins are transported in the plasma

endocrine- many hormones are soluble in plasma

excretion- waste products of cell metabolism like urea are transported via the plasma

Question 6

% protein in plasma?

Answer 6

7%

Question 7

most abundant plasma protein + the % it makes up of plasma?

Answer 7

serum albumin

Question 8

functions of serum albumin?

Answer 8

• transport of lipids, hormones and ions
• maintenance of osmotic pressure of plasma

Question 9

% of plasma proteins made up by globulins?

Answer 9

35%

Question 10

What does A1AT do?

Answer 10

plays an important role in inhibiting proteases, protects tissues from a few enzymes e.g neutrophil elastase- which is released by neutrophils during inflammation

Question 11

what does defective/ deficient A1AT lead to?

Answer 11

degradation of lung tissue leads to a loss of elasticity and respiratory issues, more vulnerable to inhaled pollutants

Question 12

what type of globulin is A1AT

Answer 12

alpha-1-globulin

Question 13

what type of globulin is haptoglobin?

Answer 13

alpha-2-globulin

Question 14

what does haptoglobin do?

Answer 14

binds to haemoglobin released from erythrocytes

resulting haptoglobin-haemoglobin complex is removed by the spleen

Question 15

what does haptoglobin do?

Answer 15

binds to haemoglobin released from erythrocytes

resulting haptoglobin-haemoglobin complex is removed by the spleen

Question 16

what can measuring levels of haptoglobin tell you?

Answer 16

whether haemolytic anaemia is present

Question 17

what does alpha-2-macroglobulin do?

Answer 17

inhibit proteases and can inactivate fibrinolysis

Question 18

examples of beta-globulins

Answer 18

complement proteins C3 and C4, transferrin (iron transportation)

Question 19

what are gamma globulins?

Answer 19

immunoglobulins, c-reactive proteins

Question 20

how can gamma globulins be used in diagnosis?

Answer 20

increases can indicate infection or myeloma

Question 21

most abundant electrolyte in plasma?

Answer 21

Na+ (150mmol/L) (30x higher than inside the cell)

Question 22

most common electrolyte in blood cells?

Answer 22

K+ (140mmol/L)

Question 23

what happens to the shape of cells when their ATP levels become depleted?

Answer 23

they become more spherical

Question 24

how can plasma be used as a biomarker?

Answer 24

study of the plasma proteome and links with disease, medications and lifestyle can be useful to inform treatment decisions

elevated levels of some key molecules can provide handy as biomarkers of disease

Question 25

what is passive immunotherapy?

Answer 25

immunoglobulins found in the gamma globulin fraction can be used to transfer immunity

ummmm basically if antibodies r harvested from someone else’s plasma are used to treat a patient’s pathogenic disease

Question 26

what’s hyperimmune globulin?

Answer 26

type of therapy?? which provides passive immunity to a specific pathogen

Question 27

how is hyperimmune globulin made?

Answer 27

donors are screened for high levels of IgG against a particular pathogen
the IgG fraction is isolated from the plasma of these donors and isolated

given following high risk exposure to a pathogen

Question 28

how can plasma be used to treat covid?

Answer 28

blood from donors who recovered from the virus is taken

plasma is tested for strength and number of antibodies

plasma is then given to infected patient if levels are okay