DALMINE
Overview
Date/time interval
Syllabus
Course Objectives
Cell biology is a field with extensive interactions and connections with other scientific disciplines. The Course aims to provide the basics of molecular cell biology essential to understand biomedical and biotechnological issues. The present Course is propaedeutic for the Courses of Histology, Anatomy, Physiology and Pathology.
Course Prerequisites
Basics of Biochemistry will be a prerequisite for understanding the covered topics.
Teaching Methods
Lectures and exercise activities will be performed. Debates with students will be encouraged during the lessons. A written exam simulation will be scheduled during the exercise activity, in order to promote the revision of the covered topics and to support students in understanding the mechanism of the final exam.
Assessment Methods
The exam session will consist of a written test of 30 multiple choice questions to be completed in 45 minutes. One point will be assigned to each question with correct answer, while half a point will be removed for each wrong answer. No score will be assigned for answers not provided.
The written test will be considered passed only with a score equal to/higher than 18. With a score greater than 18 and less than 24 it will be necessary to take an oral interview to pass the exam. Students with a score equal to/higher than 24 can decide to accept the score or to request an oral interview in order to try the score increase.
The final score will be the average of the scores derived by the written and the oral exams.
The oral interview will be provided only in a session in which the written test was taken.
The score of the written test will be made public as indicated before the exam.
For the students attending the Course it will be possible to take two partial exams, one in the middle of the Course (concerning the part of the program carried out until that moment), and one at the end of the Course concerning the remaining part of the programme. The partial exams will take place in written form, with the same criteria followed by the exam sessions, including also the eventual oral interview.
Contents
The Course will cover the following topics:
-chemical basis of life.
-prokaryotic and eukaryotic cell.
-plasma membrane: molecular structure and function.
-membrane transport: passive transport (simple and facilitated diffusion) and primary and secondary active transport (symport and antiport). Endocytosis and exocytosis.
-nerve impulse: resting potential, and action potential propagation. Saltatory conduction. Neuromuscular junction, synapses, neurotransmitters and characterization of events in the pre- and post- synaptic membrane.
-cellular respiration: glycolysis, pyruvate oxidation, citric acid cycle, oxidative phosphorylation. Analysis of chemical reactions, the enzymes involved and their regulation. Role and structure of mitochondria.
-extracellular communication through direct contact (gap junctions), local and long-distance signaling. Signal reception, transduction, amplification, and cellular response. Surface receptors: tyrosine kinases and G-protein-coupled receptors, activation mechanisms, second messengers (cAMP, IP3, and DAG), and regulatory systems. Steroid hormone receptors.
-intracellular trafficking: exocytic and endocytic pathways. Vesicular transport. Constitutive and regulated secretion.
-smooth and rough endoplasmic reticulum. Protein synthesis (co-translational translocation mechanism, tail-anchored proteins) and glycosylation process.
-Golgi complex: characteristics and functions. Protein glycosylation. Transport vesicles (COPI, COPII).
-lysosomes: characteristics and functions. Autophagy pathway.
-cytoskeleton: characteristics and functions of microtubules, intermediate filaments and actin. Role of motor proteins (dynein, kinesin, and myosin). Structure and function of cilia and flagella. Sarcomere and muscle contraction (role of actin, myosin, troponin and tropomyosin).
-interaction between cells and their environment: molecular characteristics and functions of the extracellular matrix. Role of integrins. Structure and function of focal adhesions, hemidesmosomes, adherens junctions, and desmosomes.
-DNA and RNA: molecular structures. Transcription, translation, and regulation of gene expression in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Role and mechanism of action of topoisomerases I and II. The genetic code. Different levels of DNA condensation and the role of nucleosomes and histones. Mutations (synonymous, nonsynonymous, nonsense, and frameshift) and chromosomal aberrations.
-DNA replication in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells.
-DNA repair (nucleotide excision, base excision, mispair repair, double-strand break repair).
-cell division: mitosis and meiosis. Common features, differences, and regulation.
The exercise activity will provide an overview of the main techniques in cellular and molecular biology:
-analysis of tissues by bright-field, phase-contrast, fluorescence, confocal, transmission electron, and scanning electron microscopy.
-immunodetection techniques (immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and immunogold, ELISA method).
- cell culture.
- protein isolation, purification, and separation: differential centrifugation, chromatographic techniques and electrophoresis.
- DNA and RNA extraction from biological samples and separation by gel electrophoresis and ultracentrifugation.
- recombinant DNA technology.
- DNA cloning.
- PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction).
- DNA and RNA sequencing.
- Western Blotting, Southern Blotting, Northern Blotting