BIOLOGY APPLIED TO PHYSICAL EXERCISE
Academic year and teacher
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2017/2018
- Teacher
- MAURO TOGNON
- Credits
- 10
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
Training objectives
- Provide basic knowledge on cellular biology and genetics. This course follows a formative pathway that leads the student to the understanding of: organization of the life at cellular and macromolecules levels, cellular and macromolecules characteristics, their multiplication and replicative properties, how the flow of the genetic information passes from the DNA to the RNA and to proteins, how the genetic information in a generalized manner is inherited during the generations and the modalities of gene expression in general, during the time and in the different tissue districts, the result of the mutations. Understanding of the sequence of pathologic events originating from the inherited mutations of one or more genes and leading to the altered phenotype, such as in the hypercholesterolemia, in different types of thalassemia, cystic fibrosis.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
The main aims are to train students able to move in the vast discipline of Molecular Biology acquiring skills to understand and describe:
-the fundamental concepts of Molecular Biology
-the molecular mechanisms of muscle adaptation after exercise
-genotype-phenotype association
-relationship between the mutations of DNA and hereditary diseases
-principles of stem cell biology
-critical discussion on methodological approaches of cell therapy and clinical applications of stem cells
-fundamental concepts for the understanding of some molecular circuits that support cell differentiation Prerequisites
- The student should have basic knowledge of chemistry, physics, mathematics, cellular biology, human anatomy and the fundament of biological sciences.
Course programme
- APPLIED BIOLOGY
Origin of life. Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes. Basic life chemistry: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids. DNA and RNA, structure and functions. DNA replication, transcription and genetic code. Translation. Vesicle traffic. Virus and prions. Cell cycle, mitosis and meiosis. Embryo development. Cytoskeleton. Mitochondria and energy production. Muscle cells and neurons. GENETICS: Mendel's laws, recombination and linkage. Mutations. Human genome and genetic disorders. Basic immunology. Biology of cancer.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
PART A
Contractile function: the skeletal muscle, the muscle fibers, myogenesis, mechanisms of control of myoblasts proliferation and differentiation, myosin and its isoforms , electrophoretic analysis of MHC, slow and fast muscle fibers , the aerobic metabolism of fiber type I and II A, the anaerobic metabolism of fiber type II X.
Adaptation of skeletal muscle during exercise: the regulation of contractile function , muscle plasticity, calmodulin, calcineurin, NFAT, transition mechanisms of MHC isoforms from fast to slow and vice versa.
Mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy : the control of the proliferation of satellite cells , the IGF-1 and mIGF -1 and their signaling pathways.
What is the gene doping: gene therapy, introduction to expression vectors and delivery into mammalian cells, the molecular mechanisms of gene doping, the example of transgenic mice expressing mIGF -1, the myostatin in muscular dystrophy, Mighty Baby, the follistatin, risks associated with gene doping.
Genes and athletic performance: the inherited genetic mutations, ACE and ACTN3 genes and their genetic variants correlating with performance, the PCR , how to perform a genetic test for recognition of mutations or insertions and to obtain the genotype of an athlete.
PART B
Brief notes on process of tissue re generation and repair. Embryonic stem cells, adult stem cells and iPSCs: the main molecular mechanisms that govern the differentiation and their potential applications.
Induction agents that regulate cellular differentiation.
Osteogenesis and chondrogenesis: implications for bone and cartilage regenerative medicine.
Hormones and their mechanism of action.
TGF-beta signaling, Wnt signaling.
PART C
TRANSCRIPTION AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL CONTROL:
Genic transcription, chromatin modification and post-translational modifications. Regulation of gene transcription: mTOR signaling. Myoblastic differentiation (Fibroblasts, Myoblasts; MyoD, MEF and myogenin).
SPLICING AND ALTERNATIVE SPLICING:
Processing of mRNA. 5' cap site formation and mRNA polyadenylation. Alternative splicing; exon skipping. Examples: Fibronectin, troponin and Large conductance calcium-activated potassium channels.
TRANSLATION:
Protein synthesis, ribosomal RNA and RNA transfer. Biology of microRNA and post-transcriptional control.
DNA MUTATION AND DISEASES :
Kinds of DNA mutations, protein folding and mutagens. DMD gene and its expression, dystrophin and related diseases. Didactic methods
- Lectures
Learning assessment procedures
- APPLIED BIOLOGY
Written exam with 100 multiple choice questions. For each right answer the score is +0.3, no answer is scored with 0, wrong answer is cored -0.15. The time for the exam is 2 hours.
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
During the lectures, the teacher asks the students throught snapshot checks to monitor, through simple questions, learning ability and individual communication skills.
The final verification on knowledge and understanding consists of a written exam lasting 2 hours in which the student will demonstrate knowledge on the topics of the teaching program through 4 open-ended questions (evaluation will take into account the correctness and completeness of each response) and a 30 multiple choice quiz questions (3 possible answers for each question, of which only one right, without subtracting score for wrong answer). To pass the exam you need to acquire a minimum of 18 points out of 30.
The final grade is a weighted average of the marks obtained in each tests. Reference texts
- APPLIED BIOLOGY
Suggested texts for BIOLOGY
Autori Vari, a cura di De Leo, Ginelli, e Fasano. Biologia e Genetica, 4a EDIZIONE. Editore EdiSES, Napoli
B. Alberts, et al. - Biologia molecolare della cellula - Ed. Zanichelli, Bologna
W.K.Purves et al. Elementi di Biologia e Genetica. Ed. Zanichelli, Bologna
G.M. Cooper, R.E. Hausman. La Cellula. Un approccio molecolare. Ed. Piccin, Padova
J. D. Watson et al. Biologia molecolare del gene. Ed. Zanichelli, Bologna
Suggested texsts for GENETICS
M.R. Cummings - Eredità. EdiSES, Napoli
B. A. Pearce – Genetica – Ed Zanichelli
T. Strachan, A. Read - Genetica umana molecolare - Ed. UTET, Torino
D. Watson et al. DNA ricombinante. Ed. Zanichelli, Bologna
In alternativa, previa consultazione con il docente, ogni altro testo aggiornato di Biologia e Genetica, pubblicato dopo il 2011
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Files in PPT slides presented in class
F. Amaldi, P. Benedetti, G. Pesole, P. Plevani, Biologia Molecolare, Casa Editrice Ambrosiana
