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BIOCHEMISTRY

CODE 58031
ACADEMIC YEAR 2022/2023
CREDITS
  • 10 cfu during the 1st year of 8745 MEDICINA E CHIRURGIA(LM-41) - GENOVA
  • SCIENTIFIC DISCIPLINARY SECTOR BIO/10
    LANGUAGE Italian
    TEACHING LOCATION
  • GENOVA
  • SEMESTER 2° Semester
    MODULES This unit is a module of:
    TEACHING MATERIALS AULAWEB

    AIMS AND CONTENT

    AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

    Upon completion of the course, the student will:

        know in depth the structure and function of proteins, demonstrating an understanding of how properties influence their function in physiological states and disease;
        know the main types of biochemical reactions that occur within organisms, to explain their mechanisms, energy changes, the role of enzymes and regulatory mechanisms;
        know the main metabolic pathways, their functional significance and regulatory mechanisms and have understood the biochemical specificities of different tissues and the metabolic interactions between organs;
        apply acquired knowledge of general mechanisms of metabolic regulation to explain cellular and organismal responses in response to the action of hormones, during fasting and fed state and their alterations in some disease states used as models (diabetes, cancer cells);
        critically evaluate how biochemical alterations due to disease states can be analyzed through laboratory investigations;
        know how to describe biochemical processes adequately and with correct terminology for identification of molecules.

     

    TEACHING METHODS

    Teaching includes lectures on topics in structural, metabolic and functional biochemistry that will be given by Professors Bruzzone and Tonetti

    SYLLABUS/CONTENT

    Part 1: Structural Biochemistry

        Structure and function of proteins
        Proteins: classification and functions
        Conjugated proteins: hemoglobin
        The quality control of proteins
        Biological catalysts (enzymes): mechanisms of catalysis and classification; enzyme coenzymes and cofactors; enzyme kinetics; enzyme inhibition, with examples of enzyme inhibitory drugs

    Part 2: Metabolism and major metabolic pathways

        Metabolism and bioenergetics: ATP, high-energy compounds, the biological reactions of oxidoreduction
        General principles of control of enzyme activities and regulation of metabolic pathways.  The role of allosteric enzymes in the limiting steps of metabolic pathways. Reversible covalent modifications (phosphorylation/dephosphorylation).
        Glucose metabolism:
            glycolysis: functional role, reactions and regulation; aerobic and anaerobic glycolysis;
            gluconeogenesis: functional role, reactions and regulation; role of F2,6BP in the regulation of glycolysis/gluconeogenesis;
            glycogen metabolism: synthesis and degradation pathways, functional role and regulation;
            pentose phosphate cycle: reactions (with formulas), functional role and regulation; reactive oxygen species and defense mechanisms from oxidative stress and genetic defect of G6PD;
            utilization of fructose and galactose
        Pyruvate dehydrogenase: enzymatic role and mechanism (with formulas). Alcoholic fermentation.
        Citric acid cycle: functional role, reactions and regulation
        Cytosol/mytochondrial shuttle systems.
        Oxidative phosphorylation: standard reduction potentials, ΔE and ΔG, the proton gradient, structure and function of respiratory chain complexes, ATP-synthase, mitochondrial thermogenesis.
        Lipid metabolism:
            Triglycerides, digestion and absorption; complex lipid transport through lipoproteins, lipoprotein lipases; lipolysis in adipose tissue
            fatty acid activation and transport in mitochondria; fatty acid oxidation, functional role, reactions, and regulation; degradation of unsaturated and odd-number chain C fatty acids;
            fatty acid synthesis: correlations between mitochondria and cytosol, synthesis reactions, regulation;
            glyceroneogenesis
            cholesterol synthesis and regulation; cholesterol as a precursor for other molecules;
            glycerophospholipid synthesis, phospholipases and their role in the generation of signal molecules; cyclooxygenases and the synthesis of eicosanoids (hint)
        Ketone bodies: functional role, synthesis reactions and utilization systems in peripheral tissues.
        Amino acid metabolism:
            Metabolic fate of amino groups, transaminases and glutamic dehydrogenase;
            transport of amino groups to the liver: glutamine and alanine-pyruvate cycle;
            urea cycle
        Nucleotide metabolism:
            de novo and recovery synthesis of purine and pyrimidine nucleotides; the formation of diphosphate and triphosphate nucleotides;
            purine degradation and uric acid (hint);
            deoxyribonucleotide formation: ribonucleotide reductase, thymidylate synthase;
            folate cycle; SAM cycle
            metabolism of dinucleotide coenzymes

    Part 3: Hormonal regulation and integration of metabolism

        Biosignaling and general characteristics of signal transduction
        Synthesis, release and mechanism of action of insulin and glucagon
        Metabolic effects of extrapancreatic hormones: adrenaline, steroid hormones, thyroid hormones
        Hormonal control of metabolism: effects of insulin, glucagon, steroid hormones, adipokines;
        Blood glucose control, fasting and fed state
        Metabolic interactions between organs
        Hints of the biochemistry of nutrition

     

    RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

    All slides used during lectures and other lecture materials will be available on Aulaweb. In general, the notes taken during the lectures and the material on Aulaweb are sufficient for exam preparation.

    The book listed below is suggested as a supporting text, but students may still use other college-level Biochemistry texts as well, as long as they are editions published within the last 5 years. Copies of the text are available for reference at the School of Medical and Pharmaceutical Sciences Library

    Nelson DL and Cox MM Lehninger's Principles of Biochemistry, Zanichelli

     

    TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

    Exam Board

    SANTINA BRUZZONE (President)

    GIANLUCA DAMONTE (President)

    MIRKO BENVENUTI

    MICHELA TONETTI

    ELENA ZOCCHI (President and Coordinator of Integrated Course)

    LESSONS

    LESSONS START

    For lessons start and timetable go to the link: https://easyacademy.unige.it/portalestudenti/

    Please check the module Aulaweb page for timetable updates dependent on the sanitary and epidemic situation

    Class schedule

    All class schedules are posted on the EasyAcademy portal.

    EXAMS

    EXAM DESCRIPTION

    The examination consists of an oral test. The final grade will be calculated on the basis of the weighted average of the grades obtained in the Biochemistry Propaedeutics (6 CFU), Biochemistry (10 CFU) and Clinical Biochemistry (1 CFU) portions. The Biochemistry and Clinical Biochemistry tests must be taken in the same roll call. Should the student fail one of the two tests, he/she will necessarily have to repeat both at a later appeal.

    There will be 3 exam appeals available for the winter session (mid-January- February) and 4 appeals for the summer session (June, July and September). Extraordinary appeals will not be granted outside the periods specified in the course regulations, except for out-of-school students.

    ASSESSMENT METHODS

    Details on how to prepare for the exam and the degree of depth of each topic will be provided in the course of the lectures.

    The oral examination will cover the topics covered in the lectures and will aim to assess not only whether the student has achieved an adequate level of knowledge, but whether he or she has acquired the ability to critically analyze biochemical problems that will be posed in the examination, including from a pathophysiological perspective. The student will also be required to draw the structure formulas of biomolecules and metabolic intermediates, identifying the types of reactions involved and the resulting energy changes. The student will also be required to demonstrate the ability to describe biochemical processes clearly and with correct terminology. 

    Exam schedule

    Date Time Location Type Notes
    09/01/2023 10:00 GENOVA Orale
    09/01/2023 10:00 GENOVA Orale
    13/01/2023 14:00 GENOVA Scritto
    26/01/2023 09:30 GENOVA Orale
    03/02/2023 14:00 GENOVA Scritto
    09/02/2023 09:30 GENOVA Orale
    23/02/2023 09:30 GENOVA Orale
    23/02/2023 10:00 GENOVA Orale
    24/02/2023 14:00 GENOVA Scritto
    17/04/2023 12:30 GENOVA Orale riservato studenti fuori corso
    17/04/2023 12:30 GENOVA Orale riservato studenti fuori corso
    01/06/2023 14:00 GENOVA Scritto
    05/06/2023 09:30 GENOVA Orale
    05/06/2023 10:00 GENOVA Orale
    23/06/2023 14:00 GENOVA Scritto
    26/06/2023 09:30 GENOVA Orale
    26/06/2023 10:00 GENOVA Orale
    07/07/2023 14:00 GENOVA Scritto
    10/07/2023 09:30 GENOVA Orale
    10/07/2023 10:00 GENOVA Orale
    25/07/2023 09:30 GENOVA Orale
    25/07/2023 10:00 GENOVA Orale
    15/09/2023 14:00 GENOVA Scritto
    18/09/2023 09:30 GENOVA Orale
    18/09/2023 10:00 GENOVA Orale