66430 - Veterinary General Pathology and Molecular Oncogenesis

Learning outcomes

The student knows cell and tissue pathologic processes, in particular molecular pathogenetic processes in regressive, difensive, neoplastic trasformation and in vascular disorders. The student is able to recognize a pathologic process.

Course contents

Veterinary General Pathology

Aims of the course, study materials, books, exam. cell injury, reversible cell injury and irreversible cell injury. Cell adaption, acute cell swelling, vacuolar degeneration. Protein and lipid accumulation. Tissue degeneration. Atrophy, Classification of necrosis. Apoptosis and gangrene. Inflammation: changes in vascular flow and caliber, exudation and leukocyte extravasation, fluid and cellular components of inflammation, molecular basis of inflammation, acute and chronic inflammations.  Hypersensitivity reaction I, II, III, and IV type and organ transplant

Molecular oncology

Biology of tumor growth: benign and malignant neoplasms (differentiation, anaplasia, rates of growth, cancer stem cells and cancer cell lineages, local invasion, metastasis). Molecular basis of cancer (essential alterations for malignant transformation, the normal cell cycle, self-sufficiency in growth signals, oncogenes, protooncogenes, oncoprotein, insensitivity to growth inhibitory signals, tumor suppressor genes, evasion of apoptosis, DNA repair defect and genomic instability in cancer cells, telomerase, development of sustained angiogenesis, invasion  and metastasis, stromal microenvironment and carcinogenesis, dysregulation of cancer-associated genes). Molecular basis of multistep carcinogenesis. Carcinogenic agents and their cellular interaction (chemical carcinogenesis, radiation carcinogenesis, microbial carcinogenesis). Host defense against tumors, tumor immunity (tumor antigens, antitumor effector mechanisms, immune surveillance). Clinical characteristic of tumors. Effect of the tumour in the host. Tumoral grading and staging. Laboratory diagnosis of tumours

Readings/Bibliography

• Robbins e Cotran Pathological basis of disease. Kumar V, Abbas AK, Fausto N. 9° ed, elsevier, 2014.
• Patologia Generale Veterinaria. McGavin, Zachary. Elsevier, 4° ed, 2008
• Files available at Alm@ DL

Teaching methods

The course consists of 40 hours of lectures and 8 hours of practical work 

Assessment methods

For the final exam are provided at least 3 questions.

Teaching tools

Projector connected to a light microscope and PC.

Office hours

See the website of Barbara Brunetti