Intracellular Accumulations Quiz

Fatty Liver and Intracellular Accumulations

• Fatty liver is commonly caused by chronic alcohol consumption, obesity, and diabetes.
• A common feature of intracellular accumulation of proteins is the formation of inclusion bodies.
• The characteristic yellow color in atherosclerotic plaques is caused by the accumulation of lipochrome, a lipid-derived pigment.

Pigments and Accumulations

• The most common exogenous pigment that can accumulate in the body is carbon, which can lead to anthracosis.
• The accumulation of carbon in the lungs leads to anthracosis, a condition characterized by black pigmentation.
• An imbalance between fat uptake, utilization, and secretion can result in fatty liver disease.

Atherosclerotic Plaques and Hemosiderin

• Lipochrome is responsible for the yellow color seen in atherosclerotic plaques.
• The term hemosiderosis describes the accumulation of hemosiderin in tissues.
• Hemosiderin is a characteristic feature of glycogen storage diseases.

Cellular Accumulations

• The three categories of intracellular accumulations are hyaline, lipid, and pigmented.
• Abnormal substances can accumulate in the lysosomes, a location within the cell.
• The four pathways of abnormal intracellular accumulations are endogenous, exogenous, myocellular, and macrophage-related.
• Abnormal substances typically accumulate in lysosomes.

Iron and Lipofuscin

• The major storage form of iron in the body is ferritin.
• Lipofuscin is a characteristic insoluble brownish-yellow granular intracellular material.
• Lipofuscin appears as a marker of past free-radical injury due to the accumulation of lipid peroxidation products.

Calcification and Melanin

• Calcification occurs in vital tissues with abnormal calcium metabolism, leading to conditions such as dystrophic calcification.
• The condition associated with decreased melanin pigmentation is vitiligo.
• Hemosiderin has a characteristic staining reaction with Perl's Prussian blue stain, appearing as a blue granular material.

Hemosiderosis and Lipofuscin

• Hemosiderosis is characterized by accumulation within tissue macrophages, leading to conditions such as hemosiderotic nodules.
• Lipofuscin appears as a yellow-brown granular material in tissue sections, often seen in aging cells.