84285 - Cell Signaling

Learning outcomes

Integrated Course:The Integrated Course in SIGNALING PATHWAYS IN HEALTH AND DISEASE provides a comprehensive overview of the biochemical mechanisms underlying cellular communication with the extracellular environment and the integration of complex metabolic networks that determine cellular function in both health and disease. A thorough understanding of signaling systems is essential to explore how cells regulate the molecular processes through which nutrients are converted into energy and the molecular components required for growth, maintenance, and reproduction. The Integrated Course offers students an in-depth theoretical foundation aligned with the established criteria for learning assessment. Through participation in course modules, students will develop the competencies necessary to understand, interpret, and integrate the complexity of normal cellular physiology, and to identify how dysregulation of signaling pathways contributes to metabolic disruption, developmental disorders, and various human diseases. Learning Activity:By the end of the CELL SIGNALING course the student will be able to:- Differentiate structure, receptors, and mechanism of actions of hormones. Describe pathways of cellular signaling, and their mechanisms of activation, cross-talk and regulation. Discuss how disruptions in cellular signaling may lead to disease, and illustrate with selected examples.

Course contents

This Course is part of the Integrated Course (I.C.) in Signaling Pathways in Health and Disease, which aims to cover detailed biochemical knowledge of the cellular strategies used to communicate with the extracellular environment and to integrate complex metabolic networks that determine the biological output of cells in health and disease.

Learning about signaling systems is also crucial for understanding how cells regulate the molecular interplay through which nutrients are converted into energy and the molecular building blocks needed for cell growth, maintenance, and reproduction.

The Signaling Pathways in Health and Disease I.C. offers students an in-depth theoretical education that covers the criteria for exam assessment. By attending the specific course blocks, students will acquire competencies to understand, interpret and integrate the complexity of healthy cellular physiology and to recognize how aberrant regulation of signaling pathways is linked to metabolic disruption, developmental disorders and various human diseases.

 

The specific contents of the Cell Signaling course block are:

Lecture A. 1. General features of cell signal transduction: cell surface receptors and nuclear receptors; classification of hormones

Lecture A. 2. Biosynthesis and secretion of insulin

Lecture A. 3. Signaling mechanisms regulated by receptor tyrosine kinases – part 1 (insulin/EGF & the MAPK cascade)

Lecture A. 4. Signaling mechanisms regulated by receptor tyrosine kinases – part 2 (insulin & the PI3K branch)

Lecture A. 5. Heterotrimeric G protein-coupled receptors – part 1 (adenylyl cyclase, cAMP dependent protein kinase)

Lecture A. 6. Heterotrimeric G protein-coupled receptors – part 2 (phospholipids & calcium as second messengers; G-protein signal disruption by toxic bacteria) 

Lecture A. 7. Peer study group: mid-course quizzes

Lecture A. 8. Cytochrome P-450 and biosynthesis of steroid hormones – part 1

Lecture A. 9. Cytochrome P-450 and biosynthesis of steroid hormones – part 2

Lecture A.10. Cholesterol-derived oxysterols as signalling molecules. 

Lecture A.11. Biosynthesis and secretion of thyroid hormones

Lecture A.12. Nuclear receptors: the ligand-activated transcription factor paradigm (hints about cell signaling by steroid hormones, vitamin D and thyroid hormones).

Lecture A.13. Receptors recruiting protein tyrosine kinases to the plasma membrane (JAK-STAT). Guanylyl cyclases and NO signaling.

Readings/Bibliography

• David L. Nelson, Michael M. Cox

          Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry,

          Eighth Edition ©2021

          ISBN: 978-1-319-22800-2

          or equivalent ISBN: 978-1-319-38149-3

 

Alternatively, the previous (7th) edition is also adequate ©2017 ISBN-10: 1-4641-2611-9; ISBN-13: 978-1-4641-2611-6 or equivalent International 7th Edition by W. H. Freeman-Macmillan learning ISBN: 978-1-319-10824-3

• Additional resources available for download from the E-learning dashboard of the course [link]

Teaching methods

The course of Cell Signaling is taught through 25.5 hours of regular lectures and 12 hours of asynchronous online learning activities (i.e. 3 CFUs).

A minimum attendance is required to be admitted to the final exam. please note that, since the Cell Signaling block is part of the #84284-Signaling pathways in health and disease Integrated Course (I.C), the minimum attendance is 60% of the total amount of in-person hours of ALL scheduled activities of the I.C. itself (i.e. 60% of 12 CFUs = 60% of 102 total hours). Students who fail to meet the minimum attendance requirement (i.e. 61 hours) will not be admitted to the final exam of the I.C., and will have to attend relevant classes again during the next academic year.

Students with health conditions that significantly impact their studies are requested to consult the Service for Students with Disabilities and SLD for support and information on available adaptations. Please note that faculty and administrative staff of the degree programme are not authorized to evaluate medical certificates. Students should also consult the Programme Director for guidance.

Learning materials related to the topics presented during class time are available for download from the E-learning application of the course (cf. below) for the students to gain further insights on particular topics and to make their learning an active process. The uploaded handouts are not intended to be a verbatim transcript of the lectures; rather, they highlight key concepts and challenging aspects of the biochemical mechanisms of cell signaling. [asynchronous online learning]

Assessment methods

Students enrolled in the #84284-Signaling pathways in health and disease Integrated Course will be assessed through three written test blocks: Physiology, Cell Signaling and Metabolic Biochemistry. ALL the three blocks must be taken as an integrated exam in the same exam session date. (see below)

Cell Signaling will be assessed through a 1-hour in-person computer-based written test including both multiple-choice and open-ended questions delivered via EOL. More details on the exam policy will be described during class time.

Mark Fractions: Cell Signaling, 8/32 pts; Metabolic Biochemistry 13.5/32 pts; Physiology, 10.5/32 pts.

The minimum total score a student must achieve to pass and receive credit for the I.C. course i 18 pts.

Honors (30 cum laude) are given to those who score more than 30 pts.

However, please note that only a single, integrated final mark for the entire examination will be communicated to students. Therefore individual results from the three exam blocks will not be disclosed as separate grades, as the final mark is determined collectively by the Examination Committee on the basis of the overall performance across the three blocks. Accordingly, the passing mark (18) may result from any mathematical combination of the non-disclosed partial assessments for the individual blocks.

Students will have to make a decision whether or not to accept the Signaling Pathways in Health and Disease exam outcome based on their integrated final mark. 

Six possible exam sessions are scheduled over the academic year (cf. AlmaEsami).

Teaching tools

Lecture slides and further insights by E-learning activity (i.e. Virtuale, the institutional platform for teaching support service [link]).
 

Office hours

See the website of Maria Luisa Genova