Week #8 Flashcards
(123 cards)
List some ways in which Mast cells can be activated internal and external
External
- allergen (IgE)
- stings
- mechanical stimulation
- uv light/heat
- osmotic stimuli hypertonic saline
- vancomycin
Internal
- activated complement
- neuropeptides
How does exercise induce a change in osmolarity and what is the effect on Mast cells?
- in exercise minute ventilation rises and this causes loss of fluid in the airway and then consequently the osmolarity of the airway fluid rises and that change triggers Mast cell degranulation
Atopic individuals are those which?
Have produced allergen specific IgE that has now bind to Mast cells and has sensitised them
What is the intracellular signalling that occurs upon cross linking of the FcεR1 receptors upon IgE binding to allergen
- Adjacent IgE molecules bind allergen (external)
- Adjacent ΙgΕ receptor FcεR1 (α, β & 2γ) cluster
- β & γ chains phosphorylated (internal)
- Recruitment and activation of cellular tyrosine kinase Syk
- Phospholipase C phosphorylation and activation and activation of the MAPK pathway
- Phospholipase C goes onto cause degranulation through protein kinase C activity and Ca2+ release as well as activations of arachadonic acid metabolites and cytokine gene transcription
- MAPK pathway also results in cytokine gene transcription and the activation of the arachadonic acid pathway
In a Mast cell response what is released at each time point:
Immediate?
Rapid (10-30 minutes)?
Late?
Immediate
- release of preformed mediators, Histamine, Heparin, Tryptase, TNF-alpha
Rapid
- Arachodonic acid activation
- Cys-LTs
- PGD2
Slow
- IL-4
- IL-5
- GM-CSF
Mast cells release IL-4, IL-5 and GM-CS, what is their role?
- IL-4 reinforces the Th2 phenotype and results in more IgE production
- IL-5 recruits eosinophils
- GM-CSF promotes the survival of eosinophils and activates macrophages
What are some of the actions of histamine and where is it acting? i.e. H1 or H2
- Pain & itch (sensory nerve activation) (H1 receptors)
- Bronchospasm (H1 receptors)
- Mucus secretion (H1 receptors)
- Vasodilatation - hypotension (H1 receptors)
- Increased vascular “leak” - hypovolemia (H1 receptors)
- CNS - increased wakefullness (H1 receptors)
- Positive inotropic and chronotropic (H2 receptors expressed in heart)
- Gastric acid secretion (H2 receptors)
Product of AA metabolism: Cyteinyl leukotrienes
How is LTC4 synthesised?
What is the action (local and systemic) of LTC4 and metabolites (LTD4 and LTE4)?
- Glutathione-S-transferase is responsible for the synthesis of LTC4 from LTA4
- LTC4 and metabolites (LTD4 and LTE4) act on CysLT1 receptor
- Thought to have a mainly pathophysiological role and so are a good drug target
- Local action can include airway smooth muscle contraction causing bronchoconstriction and can also cause increased mucous secretion and oedema
- Systemic action-together with histamine can cause massive vasodilatory response contributing to anaphylaxis
- also cause leak from vessels which together with histamine can cause hypovolemia
The Arachodonic acid pathway is split into two parts, what are they?
The prostoglandin half and the leukotriene half
What are some of the drug targets in the Arachodonic acid pathway
- Note that aspirin has no real effect in asthma indicating that PGD2 has a limited role to play even thoug it is a bronchoconstrictor
Role of cytokine release by Mast cells upon activation in alergy.
What are the cytokines released and what is the role of each?
- IL-4 (Th2 IgE), IL-5(eosinophil recruitment), TNF and GM-CSF(eosinophil survival and macrophage activation)
- produced in response to activation of transcription factors-so it is a slow onset
What are some inhibitors of mast cell activation
endogenous and exogenous
- endogenous=PGE2, adrenaline and cortisol
- Exogenous (pharmacological)
- Disodium cromoglycate/Nedocromil sodium
- Omalizumab
Omalizumab
- A humanised murine monoclonal antibody
- Administered subcutaneously
- Omalizumab directed against the alpha subunit binding region of the IgE
- The IgE can no longer bind the high affinity receptor on the Mast cell
- Must be administerred sub-cutaneously and is very expensive
Disodium cromoglycate/Nedocromil sodium
- very well tolerated
- modest anti-inflammatory action only
- not effective in all patients
- reduction in Mast cell activation but mechanims not entirely clear
- cause annexin-1 release which can resolve inflammation as it
- annexin-1 is one of the medaitors of the glucocorticoid ant-inflammatory activity
*
- annexin-1 is one of the medaitors of the glucocorticoid ant-inflammatory activity
- cause annexin-1 release which can resolve inflammation as it
H1 receptor antagonists
- urticaria
- atopic dermatitis (adjunct to steroids)
- hayfever (allergic rhinitis)
- anaphylaxis & angioedema (adjunct to adrenaline)
- bites & stings
- motion sickness (muscarinic antagonist activity)
Note that H1 receptor antagonists are not useful in colds or asthma
Are H1 receptor antagonists good for treating colds and asthma?
nope
What are the three generations of antihistamines (i.e. H1 receptor antagonists)
- Sedative- chlorpheniramine, promethazine
- Sedation may be neutral/beneficial in treatment of allergic condition, but sufficient to interfere with lifestyle.
- Non-sedative (poor entry into CNS)-terfenadine, astemizole
- Lack anti-muscarinic activity and GIT effects but can cause rare, sudden ventricular arrhythmia (withdrawn)
- Newer non-sedative agents-cetirizine, loratidine
- Reduced risk of unwanted cardiac effects
What are the two phases of Type I Hypersensitivity?
- Sensitization
- Response (effector phase)
- local or systemic (rare)
- Local=rhinitis, bronchoconstriction, conjunctivitis
- Systemic=anaphylaxis
- Responses have an immediate and a delayed phase
- local or systemic (rare)
DC cannot actually make IL-4, so how are Th2 cells induced?
- DC make IL-33 instead which then acts on nearby basophils which then make IL-4 which then acts on the T cells to induce the Th2 phenotype and they go on to make more IL-4 themselves
- New Nature paper says now that perhaps basophils express MHC-II and can stimulate CD4 T cells directly
Wheal and Flare (type I hypersensitivity)
- immediate (minutes)
- due to preformed mediators from mast cells
- redness-vasodilation
- soft swelling-leakage of plasma from venules
- dependent on IgE
Late response (hypersensitivity type I)
- Late (hours-days)
- due to induced mediators from mast cells (leukotrienes, cytokines etc)
- hard swelling-accumulation of leukocytes
- neutrophils, Th2 cells and eosinophils
Allergic reaction can occur in the skin, GI tract or airways or blood vessels
what occurs in each?
Eosinophils involved in late phase response (cellular response)
how do they cause damage?
how are they activated and recruited?
and what happens to them when they are activated?
- produce toxic granule-derived basic proteins and free radicals
- responsible for tissue damage/remodeling
- produce chemical mediators
- Epithelial cell activation, inflammatory cell recruitment and activation
Special Chemokine produced by epithelial cells is called eotaxins and is responsible for eosinophil recruitment
Decreased threshold of activation and degranulation
(increased senstivity)
- after activation get ↑ number of FcERI on surface and IgE binding
- decrease the threshold for activation
How do corticosteroids work against allergies?
- inhibit the transcription of many pro-inflammatory genes (cytokines etc) and cause broad immunosupression
- so can be harmful in that we get a non-sepcific dampening of the immune response which could lead to susceptibility to infection
- another side effect is bone deminerilization
- because of both of these reasons prolonged use is not recommended