Medicine and Surgery

Unit 1 – Cellular Determination and Differentiation (6h) Genetic and epigenetic regulation of cell differentiation. Coordinated interaction among pioneer, master, and epigenetic factors. Role of epigenetic mechanisms in stabilizing differentiated states and maintaining cellular memory. Role of ncRNAs in the regulation of gene expression. Regulation of gene expression through intercellular communication: role of exosomes in cellular differentiation. Role of epigenetics in cell fate determination. Mechanisms of monoallelic expression and dosage compensation (genomic imprinting and X-chromosome inactivation). Genetic mosaicism. Abnormalities in epigenetic regulation in Mendelian diseases. Genomic rearrangements during differentiation: rearrangement of immunoglobulin loci in B cell differentiation. Unit 2 – Cellular Plasticity and Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) (4h) Cellular plasticity and reprogramming. Processes of dedifferentiation and trans-differentiation. Contribution of transposable elements to cellular plasticity. Epithelial–Mesenchymal Transition (EMT): definition and characteristics of the process. Molecular mechanisms underlying the phenotypic changes and gene expression profiles that characterize EMT, and the main signaling pathways mediating its activation. Epigenetic regulation of EMT. Pathological EMT and tumor metastasis. The reverse process, MET (Mesenchymal–Epithelial Transition), and its implications in regeneration and tumorigenesis. Unit 3 – Molecular Techniques (2h) Overview of molecular techniques for the visualization and quantification of gene expression (in situ hybridization, RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), DNA and RNA microarrays), for in vivo cell tracing and characterization (fluorescent markers and cellular barcoding), and for the study of EMT both in vitro and in vivo.

Russell – Genetica. Un approccio integrato – Pearson Teaching material provided by the lecturer