In: Biology
You have just diagnosed a patient with rheumatoid arthritis in their hands, a chronic, inflammatory disorder that may affect many tissues and organs, but principally attacks the joints producing inflammation and often progresses to destruction of cartilage and joints. Rheumatoid arthritis: extracellular release of lysosomal enzymes. Your patient has a Master of Science in Chemistry, and would like a biochemical explanation of how rheumatoid arthritis is affecting the cells of their hands, so that they can put the disease into perspective. What will you say?
Biochemical explanation of how rheumatoid arthritis is affecting
the cells of hands :
When a foreign substance enters the body, the immune system
activates destroy the invader.
The T-cell lymphocytes identify the invaders through their antigens
as they are called memory cells.
After identification, the T-cells release chemicals called
cytokines that trigger B-cell lymphocytes to produce antibodies and
these antibodies destroy the invaders.
In Rheumatoid arthritis, immune system do not work correctly. It is
an autoimmune disease that affect many joints such as those in the
hands and feet.
When immune response occurs, tissues become inflamed, which can
include heat, redness, swelling, and pain. It helps the body to
heal. But in Rheumatoid arthritis, body starts damaging itself.
Thus the term autoimmune disease is used. RA involves chronic
inflammation as the condition causing acute inflammation is not
resolved, then inflammation pass to a longer term chronic
phase.
During immune responses, many signaling chemicals such as cytokines
are produced.
Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a cytokine that is involved in
inflammatory responses. It can be produced by T-cells. High
concentrations of TNF found in the bone joints of Rheumatoid
arthritis patients.
RANKL (Receptor Activator for Nuclear Factor ? B Ligand) is a
member of the TNF family and needed in the body as it activates
osteoclasts that help regulate the amount of bone tissue.
In rheumatoid arthritis, RANKL is overproduced that results in
overproduction of osteoclasts snd results in erosion of bone
tissue....