Medicine and Surgery

BIOCHEMISTRY I (with elements of MOLECULAR BIOLOGY) Protein. Structural organization and denaturation. Structure-function relationships. Natural peptides. Hemoproteins, hemoglobin and myoglobin. Collagen. Plasma proteins and immunoglobulins. Proteins involved in muscle contraction and blood clotting. Elements of molecular biology. Nucleic acid structure. Genome and proteome. Genetic code and protein synthesis: biochemical aspects. Carbohydrates. General properties and classification. Reserve and structural carbohydrates. Glycoproteins. Proteoglycans. Lipids. General properties and classification. Phosphoglycerolipids and sphingolipids. Cholesterol and derivatives. Arachidonic acid and derivatives. Lipoproteins. Biological membranes. Ionic channels and pumps. Vitamins. Function and active forms. Hypo- and hypervitaminosis. Biological role of trace elements. Enzymes. Thermodynamic aspects of enzymatic catalysis. Enzyme kinetics. Catalytic mechanisms and regulation of enzymatic activity. Inhibitors. Classification of enzymes. Coenzymes. Isozymes. Principles of biochemical methodology. Purification methods and characterization of macromolecules. Chromatography. Electrophoresis. Spectrophotometry. Fluorimetry. BIOCHEMISTRY II (with elements of MOLECULAR BIOLOGY) Bioenergetics: principles of biological redox reactions. ATP: structure and function. Other high energy compounds. Respiratory chain and oxidative phosporylation; the chemiosmotic theory. Inhibitors and uncoupling agents. • Carbohydrates metabolism: digestion and uptake. Glycolysis. Krebs cycle. Anaplerotic reactions. Glycogen metabolism: synthesis and breakdown. Gluconeogenesis. Pentose Phosphates pathway. • Lipid metabolism: digestion and uptake. Bile salts. Fatty acids oxidation. Ketone bodies. Fatty acids, acylglycerols and phospholipids biosynthesis. Colesterol biosynthesis and catabolism. • Protein metabolism: digestion and uptake. Proteases. Aminoacids metabolism: transamination, deamination and decarboxylation. Biogenic amines. Urea cycle. Metabolism of selected aminoacids: Tyrosine and methionine. • Heme biosynthesis and catabolism. • Pirimidines and purines biosynthesis and catabolism. • Hormones: Properties and mechanisms of action. Hydrophilic and lipofilic hormones. Insulin, glucagon, adrenalin. Thyroid hormones and steroids. Signal transduction mechanisms: receptors and second messengers. cAMP, cGMP, inositols, calcium. Pathologic states. Elements of tissue and organ metabolism.

Knowledge of general and inorganic chemistry. Knowledge of organic chemistry and of constituents of macromolecules.

Suggested textbooks. Mathews - Van Holde - Appling – Cahill; Biochimica; Piccin (2014) Nelson-Cox; I Principi di Biochimica di Lehninger; VII edizione Zanichelli (2018) La Biochimica di Thomas M. Devlin VI edizione (2023)

Classroom lessons (face-to-face or online if necessary) Specialized seminars on selected topics.

Attendance is compulsory

The minimal mark for the exam is 18/30. If necessary, exams can be administered online. The student must show a basic knowledge of biochemistry and related methodologies in biomedicine, together with the capacity to logically connect the individual biochemical pathways.

Classroom lessons (face-to-face or online if necessary) Specialized seminars on selected topics.

Bioenergetics: principles of biological redox reactions. ATP: structure and function. Other high energy compounds. Respiratory chain and oxidative phosporylation; the chemiosmotic theory. Inhibitors and uncoupling agents. • Carbohydrates metabolism: digestion and uptake. Glycolysis. Krebs cycle. Anaplerotic reactions. Glycogen metabolism: synthesis and breakdown. Gluconeogenesis. Pentose Phosphates pathway. • Lipid metabolism: digestion and uptake. Bile salts. Fatty acids oxidation. Ketone bodies. Fatty acids, acylglycerols and phospholipids biosynthesis. Colesterol biosynthesis and catabolism. • Protein metabolism: digestion and uptake. Proteases. Aminoacids metabolism: transamination, deamination and decarboxylation. Biogenic amines. Urea cycle. Metabolism of selected aminoacids: Tyrosine and methionine. • Heme biosynthesis and catabolism. • Pirimidines and purines biosynthesis and catabolism. • Hormones: Properties and mechanisms of action. Hydrophilic and lipofilic hormones. Insulin, glucagon, adrenalin. Thyroid hormones and steroids. Signal transduction mechanisms: receptors and second messengers. cAMP, cGMP, inositols, calcium. Pathologic states. Elements of tissue and organ metabolism.

Chemistry and biochemistry propaedeutics

Mathews - Van Holde - Appling – Cahill; Biochimica; Piccin (2014) or Nelson-Cox; I Principi di Biochimica di Lehninger; VI edizione Zanichelli (2014)

hall lectures depending on covid outbreak

mandatory attendance

sufficient written test is required to access the oral exam (qualification only)

further infos in the e-learning page.

In person lectures