Biomedical Laboratory techniques - Course C - ASL Latina (distretto nord)

Activity type

Scienze biomediche

SSD

BIO/10

Year

N/D

Semester

N/D

CFU

2

Hours distribution

20 classroom hours

Lecturers

ALESSANDRA BONAMORE

Activity type

Scienze biomediche

SSD

BIO/12

Year

N/D

Semester

N/D

CFU

2

Hours distribution

20 classroom hours

Lecturers

ALESSANDRA BONAMORE

Activity type

Primo soccorso

SSD

BIO/14

Year

N/D

Semester

N/D

CFU

2

Hours distribution

20 classroom hours

Lecturers

GIOVANNI SEBASTIANO ALEMA'

At the end of the course, the student will be expected to know the structure and function of carbohydrates, lipids, and amino acids and their metabolism; enzymes and their role in metabolism and diagnostics; and the structure and function of hemoglobin, myoglobin, and collagen.
The student will also be expected to understand the structure and function of nucleic acids and recombinant DNA technologies.
Furthermore, the student will learn the principles governing pharmacokinetics, understand the meaning of the main pharmacokinetic parameters and how they are determined, and become familiar with the key features of drug–receptor interactions and toxicology.

The student must have acquired the concepts related to the courses of the first semester

Module: BIOCHEMISTRY
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF LIVING THINGS. Water properties. Chemical bonds, functional groups and organic molecules of biochemical interest.
PROTEINS - Amino acids: classification, isomerism, zwitterions, essential aminoacids, peptide bond. Proteins: functions, primary structure, secondary structures (alpha helix, beta sheet, collagen), tertiary structure, denaturation and denaturing agents, quaternary structure.
Myoglobin and Hemoglobin: transport and storage of oxygen, protein and heme structure, functional aspects, oxygen dissociation curve, allosteric hemoglobin properties, carbon monoxide action. Heme catabolism and bilirubin formation.
Enzymes: classification by reaction and mechanism of catalysis, prosthetic groups, cofactors and conzymes, catalysis, transition state, activation energy, enzyme kinetics, competitive and non-competitive inhibition. Plasma proteins and enzymes of clinical interest. Protein turnover and aminoacid catabolism. Transamination and deamination of amino acids. Urea cycle.
CARBOHYDRATES – General information, classification, main monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides.
Glucose: metabolism and regulation, glycolysis and pyruvate oxidation, citric acid cycle, oxidative phosphorylation, pentose-phosphate pathway, glycogen and glycogen metabolism. Blood glucose regulation: insulin and glucagon.
LIPIDS - General information, classification, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, triglycerides, phospholipids, steroids. Fatty acid metabolism (beta-oxidation), plasma lipids of clinical interest. Lipoproteins: constitution and metabolism.
INTERMEDIATE METABOLISM AND ENERGY EXCHANGES - Basic concepts, via anabolic and catabolic, general scheme of metabolic pathways. strategies for regulating the metabolic pathways.
HORMONES - General information, classification, hormone receptors and signal transduction mechanisms.



Module: MOLECULAR BIOCHEMISTRY
The Molecular Biology course examines aspects related to the structure, organization, replication and repair of the genetic material as well as the flow of genetic information through transcription and translation. Some basic methods for the analysis and amplification of nucleic acids by the Polymerase Chain Reaction are discussed. Detailed program of the course follows.

STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION OF NUCLEIC ACIDS. Chemical constituents of nucleic acids. Purine and pyrimidine bases, ribose and deoxyribose. Nucleosides and nucleotides. DNA as genetic material (experiments by Griffith, Avery-McLeod-McCarty, Hershey & Chase). Chargaff rules. The double helix of Watson and Crick. Denaturation, renaturation and melting temperature (Tm) of a DNA. RNA: Differences from DNA. Various types of RNA and their biological role: mRNA, rRNA, tRNA. The small RNAs (snRNA, snoRNA). Organization of genetic material: chromatin, nucleosomes, histones and histone modifications.

DNA DUPLICATION AND REPAIR. DNA duplication: semiconservative (Meselson & Stahl experiment), bidirectional and semidiscontinuous. DNA polymerases. Replication in E. coli and eukaryotes. The telomere problem: telomerases. DNA damage. Repair systems: photo-repair and excision repair.

TRANSCRIPTION. Prokaryotic and eukaryotic RNA polymerases. Transcriptional initiation: prokaryotic and eukaryotic promoters. Elongation and transcriptional termination. The reverse transcriptase. Maturation of eukaryotic mRNAs: capping, polyadenylation, splicing. Outline of transcriptional regulation in prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Prokaryotic operons: the case of the lac operon. Eukaryotic transcription factors. Histone modifications, chromatin remodeling and transcriptional regulation.

GENETIC CODE AND TRANSLATION. The genetic code. Mutations. Point mutations, insertions and deletions: the case of hemoglobin S. Expansion of triplets. Translation machinery: mRNA, tRNA, ribosomes and aminoacyl-tRNA synthase. Translation: initiation in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, elongation and termination.

TECHNIQUES. Purification and analysis of nucleic acids (electrophoresis, spectrophotometry). Polymerase Chain Reaction: general characteristics and applications. Real Time PCR. DNA fingerprinting.



Module: BASIS OF PHARMACOLOGY
N/D

Module: BIOCHEMISTRY
M. Stefani – Biochimica con elementi di Biologia Molecolare e Scienze dell’Alimentazione - Zanichelli
D.L. Nelson, M.M. Cox - Introduzione alla Biochimica di Lehninger” (terza edizione) - Zanichelli



Module: MOLECULAR BIOCHEMISTRY
The course deals with basic topics which can be found in many textbooks. Those listed below are adequate for exam preparation and allow the student to realize the degree of in-depth study required.
- Sadava D, Hillis DM, Heller HC, Hacker S. ELEMENTI DI BIOLOGIA E GENETICA, quinta ediz., Zanichelli 2019.
- Raven PH, Johnson GB, Mason KA, et al. Volume 2, GENETICA E BIOLOGIA MOLECOLARE, Piccin 2018.



Module: BASIS OF PHARMACOLOGY
N/D

Further bibliographic material will be provided by the teacher during the course and will be shared with students via Google classroom

Formal lessons. At the end of each lesson, students will be provided with a self-assessment test

mandatory

The overall assessment of learning will be based on an oral exam. The oral exam will assess: 1) knowledge of the structure and function of biological macromolecules; 2) knowledge of the metabolic pathways dealt with during the course; 2) role of specific hormones in the global control of metabolism; 3) ability to write chemical structures of the main biological molecules for which students have received a detailed list.

Structure and metabolism of carbohydrates
Structure and metabolism of lipids
Structure and function of proteins
Amino acid metabolism
Structure of nucleic acids
Gene cloning
PCR
What is the role of drug metabolism?
How is clearance defined, and which factors can influence it?
Discuss the main determinants that regulate ligand–receptor interactions

Module: BIOCHEMISTRY

• Introduction to Biochemistry. Protein Structure and Function.
  • Books:  Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry.Chapters 3, 4 and 5


• Enzymes and Enzyme Kinetics
  • Books: Chapter 6


• Carbohydrates and Carbohydrate Metabolism
  • Books: Chapters 7, 14, 15, 16, 19


• Lipids and Lipid Metabolism
  • Books: Chapters 11 and 17


• Amino Acid and Heme Metabolism
  • Books: Chapters 18 and 22

• Nucleic Acids: Structure, Function, and Properties


• The Flow of Genetic Information (The Central Dogma).DNA Replication


• Transcription and its regulation. Translation


• Recombinant DNA Technology: Gene Cloning, Genomic Libraries, and Sequencing


• The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) and Its Applications

• Introduction and Passage of Drugs Across Membranes
  • Books: Basi cellulari della farmacocinetica, Farmacologia generale e molecolare Clementi, Fumagalli, UTET Torino


• Routes of Administration, Absorption and Bioavailability
  • Books: Vie di somministrazione, Farmacologia generale e molecolare Clementi, Fumagalli, UTET Torino


• Drug distribution
  • Books: Distribuzione, Farmacologia generale e molecolare Clementi, Fumagalli, UTET Torino


• Drug excretion
  • Books: Escrezione, Elementi di Farmacologia e terapia medica, Kalant, Roschlau, Casa Editrice Ambrosiana, Milano


• Drug metabolism
  • Books: Metabolismo dei farmaci, Farmacologia generale e molecolare Clementi, Fumagalli, UTET Torino


• Clinical Pharmacokinetics
  • Books: Farmacocinetica Clinica, Farmacologia generale e molecolare Clementi, Fumagalli, UTET Torino


• Variability of pharmacological response
  • Books: Fattori di Variabilità di risposta ai farmaci, Farmacologia, Rossi-Cuomo, Torino, Minerva Medica


• Receptors and signal transduction mechanisms
  • Books: Meccanismi d'azione dei farmaci: principi generali Farmacologia, Rang, Dale, Ritter, Moore Milano, Casa Editrice Ambrosiana


• Drug-receptor interaction
  • Books: Aspetti quantitativi e qualitativi dell'interazione farmaco-recettore
    
    Farmacologia generale e molecolare Clementi, Fumagalli, UTET Torino