00061 - Biochemistry (A)

Learning outcomes

Upon completion of the Biochemistry course, students will understand: the thermodynamic aspects of biochemical processes and the fundamentals of cellular bioenergetics; the structural and functional characteristics of protein macromolecules; the mechanism of action of enzymes, enzymatic kinetics, and the mechanisms for regulating the rate of biochemical processes; the structure of nucleic acids and the molecular basis of DNA replication, and the transcription and translation phases of protein synthesis; the essential elements of the intermediary metabolism of major biological molecules (carbohydrates, lipids, and nitrogenous compounds), the energy changes associated with them, their interrelationships and metabolic and hormonal regulations, as well as the cellular localization and compartmentalization of major metabolic pathways; the specialization of various human organs and tissues in metabolic activities as a prerequisite for understanding their specific functions; the molecular mechanisms regulating cellular activity, with particular attention to intracellular signal transduction and the function of hormones, other extracellular messengers, and vitamins at the metabolic and genetic levels; the molecular basis of human nutrition and nutrigenomics necessary to understand the role of nutrients contained in food on the metabolic homeostasis of cells and tissues.

Course contents

The course is integrated and divided into topics, taught by Professor Solaini as follows: General aspects of metabolism: life reactions, metabolic pathways, their regulation and compartmentalization. Catabolism and anabolism; Phosphorylation potential and energy charge; main coenzymes. Carbohydrate metabolism: The main carbohydrates of biomedical interest. General scheme of carbohydrate metabolism and compartmentalization in the cell and the human organism. Glycemia and glucose transport within the cell; glycolysis: reactions, enzymes, energy yield, and regulation. Substrate-level phosphorylation. Reoxidation of glycolytic NADH: lactic and alcoholic fermentation. Methods of incorporating other monosaccharides into glycolysis. Glycogenolysis, gluconeogenesis, and their regulation.

Readings/Bibliography

I principi di Biochimica di Lehninger 8° Ed.

D.L. Nelson and M.M. Cox

(Zanichelli)

Biochimica 5° Ed.

Devlin T.M.

(Edises)

Teaching methods

classroom teaching

Assessment methods

See Prof. Alessandra Baracca, I.C. coordinator

Teaching tools

-Hours of lectures for in-depth study, clarification, and review. 

-Multimedia laboratories in general and metabolic biochemistry.

Office hours

See the website of Giancarlo Solaini