Catalogo dei Corsi di studio

By the end of the course the student should be able to
explain the following biological processes: Enzymatic catalysis, DNA replication,
transport across membranes, transcription, translation, respiration,
intracellular trafficking, signal transduction.

Programme

General Features of the cell.
Cell Theory. The general organization of prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cells. Nucleic acids: DNA and RNA. Amino acids and their properties. Peptide bond, protein structureseine.
Metabolism.
Exergonic and endergonic reactions. Enzymes, catalysis.
Cell membranes and cytoskeleton
Composition of cell membranes. Osmosis. Membrane potential. Active and passive transport across membranes. Cell communication: cell junctions, cell adhesion and extracellular matrix. The cytoskeleton
The Eukariotic cell genome
The organization of the nucleus of eukaryotic cells. The pore complex. Chromatin. Histones and nucleosomes. DNA supercoiling and DNA topoisomerases. Repeated sequences. Centromeres and telomees.
DNA replication.
The DNA replication machinery. Leading and lagging strand. Okazaki fragments. Proof-reading activity of DNA polymerases. DNA damage, DNA repair.
Gene expression: transcription and translation.
Main RNA classes and their features: tRNA, rRNA, mRNA, miRNA. Transcription: RNA polymerases. Promoters. Eukariotic mRNA processing. Synthesis and processing of tRNA, miRNA and rRNAs.
Gene expression regulation in prokaryotic cells: operons.
Gene expression regulation in eukaryotic cells: General transcription factors, enhancers, specific transcription factors. Post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression.
Translation in eukaryotic cells and prokariotic cells. Amino acids activation. The genetic code and its properties. Ribosomes: structure and function. The phases of translation: initiation, elongation, termination. Post-translational modifications.
Cell organules and endomembranes:
Cell compartments: rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi apparatus. Co-translational translocation, glycosylation and protein trafficking
ATP synthesis: structure and function of mitochondria. Endosymbiontic origin of mitochondria. Krebs cycle, electron transfer and oxydative phsphorylation. Structure and function of lysosomes and peroxysomes.
Signal transduction: cell communication, endocrine, paracrine and autocrine signals. Receptors. Signal transduction through heterotrimeric G proteins, tyrosine kinase receptors, steroid hormones receptors. Second messengers. RAS protein. Signal transduction through phosphorylation cascades.
Recombinant DNA
Restriction enzymes, molecular cloning, PCR, DNA sequencing.

Adopted texts

Alberts Bray Hopkins Johnson Lewis Raff Roberts Walter Essential Cell Biology. Garland Science.
Other textbooks might be suitable to study this exam. Ask the teacher for advise on a specific textbook.

Prerequisites

Basic knowledge of chemistry and mathematics. During the course some basic notions of chemistry will be provided. However, some topics that are discussed during the last month of the course can only be exhaustively understood by those student who followed the Chemistry course in the same semester.

Frequency modes

Students should attend at least 67% of the lessons to be allowed to take the exam.

Exam modes

During the first and second semester there will be some tests. Those who will pass those tests with an average score of at least 24 will be allowed (only for the June and July sessions of the sae Academic Year) to take a short oral exam.
In all other cases the exam will consist of a 20-30 minutes talk during which the student will be asked some questions. The student will also be asked to solve a simple problem of Genetics.