Alberts, Molecular biology of the cell, Ed. Zanichelli
Learning Objectives
The purpose of the course is to give a complete picture of the molecular mechanisms regulating cell life.
Teaching Methods
oral lessons
Type of Assessment
final oral exam
Course program
The eucaryotic cell: structure and function of the nucleus, mitochondria, endoplasmic reticulum, lysosomes and ribosomes. Membrane and transport. Plasma membrane lipids. Membrane fluidity and cholesterol. Active and passive transport. The glucose transport. Constituent and inducible glucose transporters. Exocytosis and endocytosis. Genomic information and genomic organization. Biology dogma, histones, DNA denaturation. DNA replication. The structure of nucleic acids. The enzymes involved in DNA duplication. Telomerase. PCR Mechanism. The mechanism of transcription. Maturation of tRNA, rRNA and mRNA. Real Time PCR: probes for Real Time, relative and absolute quantification. The genetic code, translation and mutations. Codons, protein synthesis mechanism, selenocystine incorporation, molecular chaperones, proteasome. Control of gene expression. Epigenetic mechanisms, transcriptional factors, RNA interference, transduction control (eg ferrite and transferrin receptor). The post-translational fate of proteins. The cytoplasmic pathway (transport of protein into the nucleus, mitochondrial, peroxisome). The vesicular route (transport of proteins in the lattice). N-glycosylation of proteins in RE. Types of transporting vesicles. N-glycosylation of proteins in Golgi. O-glycosylation. Protein transport to lysosomes. Example of regulated secretory path: GLUT4. Endocytosis mediated by the receptor (cholesterol endocytosis). The cytoskeleton. The three constituents of the cytoskeleton. The centrosome. Motor proteins. The cytoskeleton dynamics: mitotic melting, cell division, cellular motility. The extracellular matrix. Cellular Motility. The cell cycle. Cicline and CDK, the transition G1 / S and G2 / M, p53 and Rb. The cancer cells. Characteristics of cancer cells, oncogenes and oncosoppressors, hypoxia and HIF. Stem cells. Mitosis and meiosis.