BIOCHEMISTRY
Academic year and teacher
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2017/2018
- Teacher
- RICCARDO GAVIOLI
- Credits
- 9
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- BIO/10
Training objectives
- Biochemistry is a branch of life science which deals with the study of chemical reactions and their organization that occur in living cells and organisms. It takes into account the studies related to the nature of the chemical constituents of living matter, their transformations in biological systems and the energy changes associated with these transformations.
The students are guided to arrive at the understanding of the relationship between the structure and function of macromolecules, and control strategies of their functions within the metabolic reactions. The laboratory will have the task of making the students understand the basic knowledge can be used to investigate the macromolecules and their properties and functions. Prerequisites
- Basic knowledge of Biology, general and Organic Chemistry.
Course programme
- The course forecasts 72 hours of teaching divided in frontal lectures (64 hours) and guided lab activities (12 hours).
Topics of the lessons are:
Introduction to Biochemistry (4 hours): Cell and organelles, composition of living matter, configuration of the carbon atom, molecules, covalent and non-covalent bonds, properties of water.
Nucleotides (2 hours): structure and function
Proteins: Structures, functions and catalysis (12 hours).
Amino acids: structure, properties and classification. Peptide bond. Proteins: structure and function. Three-dimensional structure: primary, secondary (alpha helix, beta conformation, beta-turn), tertiary and quaternary, domains. Structure and function of hemoglobin and myoglobin, the heme group and the bond with the oxygen, dissociation curve, oxygen regulation of the affinity of hemoglobin for oxygen (CO2, H+, BPG), Structure and function of immunoglobulins, MHC and TCR.
Enzymes: general characteristics, activation energy, binding energy, general concepts of enzyme kinetics, Vmax, Km Mechanisms of regulation of enzyme activity: competitive and non-competitive inhibitors, the enzyme regulators: allosteric enzymes and enzymes regulated by covalent modifications.
Biological Membranes and Transport (2 hours): The constituents of plasma membranes. Structure and function of membranes. The membrane lipids. Fluidity. Permeability. Passive and active transport:
Membrane receptors (4 hours): function, specificity and signal transduction: receptors with intrinsic kinase activity (insulin), cAMP, diacylglycerol and inositol triphosphate.
Bioenergetics and Metabolism (38 hours):
Basic concepts of metabolism: Catabolism and anabolism. The transfer of phosphate groups. Structure and function of ATP. The electron carriers (NADH, NADPH and FADH2). Coenzyme A.
Degradation and synthesis of glucose: General concepts on carbohydrates and their structures. Glycolysis and Gluconeogenesis: function and regulation. The energy balance. Pyruvate carboxylase activity and regulation. Fructose 1-6 bisfosfatase and regulation. Synthesis of pentose phosphate and NADPH.
Glycogenolysis and glycogen synthesis: Glycogen. Function and regulation degradation of glycogen degradation. Function and regulation of glycogen biosynthesis, the glicogenin.
Regulation of sugar metabolism: Hormonal regulation of sugar metabolism. Fate of pyruvate areobic and anaerobic conditions. Cori cycle. Synthesis of Acetyl-CoA: pyruvate dehydrogenase complex.
Citric acid cycle: Functions, energy balance and regulation.
Degradation of lipids: Mobilization and transport of fatty acids. Fatty acid oxidation. The ketone bodies.
Degradation of amino acids and proteins: Protein diet and cellular proteins. Oxidation of amino acids and removal of the amino group. The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway.
Ethanol metabolism.
Oxidative phosphorylation: The electron carriers. Electron flow and ATP synthesis. Mechanisms of coupling between respiratory chain and oxidative phosphorylation. Transport systems of cytoplasmic NADH. Transport of ATP and ADP.
Biosynthesis of lipids: biosynthesis of fatty acids. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase and malonyl-CoA synthesis and regulation. Fatty acid synthase.
Integration of Metabolism (2 hours): Metabolic Inter-relations between different organs. Fasting-feeding cycle. Hormonal regulation.
Lab activities (12 hours): Evaluation of protein concentration. Didactic methods
- Theoretical lessons (8 CFU 64 hours) and Lab activities (1 CFU, 12 hours)
Learning assessment procedures
- Oral examination. The aim of the oral examination is to test the level of knowledge and deepening of the topics of the course program and the reasoning skills developed by the student on issues related to biochemistry . The assessment is expressed in thirtieths (minimum grade 18).
Reference texts
- Scheme and Figures provided by the docent.
One of the following books:
"Biochimica" di Berg-Tynoczko-Stryer, Zanichelli
"I principi di Biochimica di Lehninger" di Nelson-Cox, Zanichelli
"Principi di Biochimica" di Garret&Grisham, Piccin
"Fondamenti di Biochimica" di Voet-Voet-Pratt, Zanichelli
“Biochimica con aspetti clinico-farmaceutici” di Devlin, Edises
