Academic Year 2018/2019

  • Moduli: Carmela Fimognari (Modulo 1) Alessandra Marchesi (Modulo 2) Eleonora Turrini (Modulo 3)
  • Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures (Modulo 1) Traditional lectures (Modulo 2) Traditional lectures (Modulo 3)
  • Campus: Rimini
  • Corso: First cycle degree programme (L) in Quality control of health products (cod. 8517)

    Also valid for Single cycle degree programme (LMCU) in Pharmacy (cod. 8414)

Learning outcomes

The course provides an introduction to the field of Toxicology. At the end of the course, the student knows:  - the principles governing entry, fate, and effects of toxicants on living systems;   - the effects of xenobiotics on metabolism, physiology, and morphology of different cell types, tissues, and organ systems;  - the major genetic and environmental determinants of risk;    - the principles governing fate and effects of environmental toxicants on human health and ecosystems; - toxic effect modulation by food and accumulation of toxicants through the food chain.

Course contents

Course of TOXICOLOGY for Pharmacy students

 Course I -  TOXICOLOGY (Carmela Fimognari)

General Toxicology

History and scope of Toxicology; agents of toxicity, morphological, functional and biochemical modifications induced by drugs and xenobiotics.

Factors affecting toxic responses. 
Drug toxicity: definition of wanted and unwanted side effects, individual variability in drug response, hyperresponsivity, hyporesponsivity, idiosyncrasy, allergy, tolerance, tachyphylaxis. Toxicity coming from association of xenobiotics.

Molecular Aspects of Toxicity

Necrosis and apoptosis: irreversibility of cell damage and cell death.
Genetic toxicology: gene mutations, chromosome aberrations, DNA repair systems.
Carcinogenesis: definitions and mechanisms of carcinogenetic agents, genotoxic and epigenetic carcinogens.

Target Organ Toxicity 

Toxic response of the kidney: classification of toxic effects, mechanisms of toxicity, examples of toxic agents.

Toxic response of the liver: classification of toxic effects, mechanisms of toxicity, examples of toxic agents.

Toxic response of the respiratory system: classification of toxic effects, mechanisms of toxicity, examples of toxic agents.

Toxic response of the immune system: immune system organization and function, classification of toxic effects, mechanisms of toxicity, examples of toxic agents.

Toxic response of the nervous system: nervous system organization, classification of toxic effects, mechanisms of toxicity, examples of toxic agents.

Toxic response of the reproductive system: reproductive system organization and function, classification of toxic effects, mechanisms of toxicity, examples of toxic agents.

Toxic response of the skin: skin organization and function, classification of toxic effects, mechanisms of toxicity, examples of toxic agents.

Predictive Toxicology

Threshold values, safety factors, no-threshold effects. Risk assessment. LOEL, LOAEL, NOEL, NOAEL, NEL, margin of safety, ADI. The toxicological assessment of pharmaceutical and biotechnology products.

Course II - ENVIRONMENT AND FOOD TOXICOLOGY (Davide Manucra)

Limit values for industrial toxicants, emission of harmful substances into the environment. The biological monitoring in the occupational environment. Toxic effect modulation by food. Rules on food safety.  REACH: the European Community Regulation on chemicals and their safe use. Toxicology of prions. Ecotoxicology: the mechanism of action of environmental toxicants, damage level evaluation, some notices about toxicity tests. General principles on the risk analysis from environmental pollutants. Access to toxicological databases.

 

Course of TOXICOLOGY for CQPS students

- Module I - Toxicology (Carmela Fimognari)

General Toxicology

General principles of Toxicology: definitions, aims and perspectives; morphological, functional and biochemical modifications induced by drugs and xenobiotics.

Toxicokinetics: absorption, distribution, excretion; xenobiotic metabolism (detoxification and bioactivation). Factors affecting toxic responses.

Cell death: necrosis and apoptosis.

Genetic toxicology: gene mutations, chromosome aberrations, DNA repair systems.

Carcinogenesis: definitions and mechanisms of carcinogenetic agents, genotoxic and epigenetic carcinogens.

Target Organ Toxicity

Toxic response of the liver: classification of toxic effects, mechanisms of toxicity, examples of toxic agents.

Toxic response of the kidney: classification of toxic effects, mechanisms of toxicity, examples of toxic agents.

Toxic response of the reproductive system: reproductive system organization and function, classification of toxic effects, mechanisms of toxicity, examples of toxic agents.

Toxic response of the respiratory system: classification of toxic effects, mechanisms of toxicity, examples of toxic agents.

Toxic response of the immune system: immune system organization and function, classification of toxic effects, mechanisms of toxicity, examples of toxic agents.

Toxic response of the nervous system: nervous system organization, classification of toxic effects, mechanisms of toxicity, examples of toxic agents.
Toxic response of the skin: skin organization and function, classification of toxic effects, mechanisms of toxicity, examples of toxic agents.

 

- Module II - Applied Toxicology (Alessandra Marchesi)

Experimental methods in Toxicology: descriptive, mechanistic and theoretical methods.

Alternative methodologies to the use of animals in Toxicology: development, validation and application to the screening and characterization of organ toxicity.

Animal descriptive studies: general principles; aims of the studies. Acute toxicity studies: aims, lethality curves, limit of acute exposure; methods: experimental design, analyses and observations. Repeated-dose toxicity tests versus acute toxicity studies, analyses and observations.

Methods for the study of carcinogenic and genotoxic potential. Types of studies for the evaluation of carcinogenicity. Long-term carcinogenity studies. Short-term genetic toxicology studies. Mutagenicity tests: principles; Ames test; mammalian culture tests. Chromosome aberration test; micronucleus test. Methods for aneuploidy detection. Structure-activity relationship, structural alert.

Methods for the study of reprotoxic potential: multigenerational studies, fertility studies, teratogenic potential, peri- and post-natal toxicity.

Methods for the study of local tolerance.

 

- Module III - Laboratory of Applied Toxicology (Eleonora Turrini)
Laboratory training Cell culture: maintenance and use. Cell count and analysis of cell viability. Assessment of cell proliferation. Evaluation of the cytotoxicity of a xenobiotic.

Readings/Bibliography

Casarett & Doull's Toxicology: The basic science of poisons (by C.D. Klaassen), 8th Edition, Mc Graw-Hill, 2013.

Wallace Hayes A. Principles and methods of Toxicology, 6th Edition, CRC Press, 2014.

Teaching methods

Traditional. This course does not include laboratory training.

Assessment methods

The exam will consist in an oral test aimed at assessing the student's understanding and knowledge of the topics set out during the course. The examination consists of an interview focusing on two modules which can not be split and must therefore be dealt with within one exam. The marks obtained for each interview, in proportion to the number of credits, contribute to the final grade of thirty. The achievement by the student of an organic vision of the issues addressed during the course and the use of an appropriate specific terminology will be assessed with a mark of excellence.

Teaching tools

Slides are usually used to enhance clarity during courses. The materials used will be uploaded to to the website http://campus.cib.unibo.it. Username and password are reserved for students enrolled at the University of Bologna.

Office hours

See the website of Carmela Fimognari

See the website of Alessandra Marchesi

See the website of Eleonora Turrini

SDGs

Good health and well-being Life on land

This teaching activity contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda.