Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Cell Biology II
Other languages of instruction: Catalan, English
Teaching staff
Students are welcomed to consult lecturers at the end of each class. For enquiries outside of class, students can email or make an appointment by email to the course coordinator: Miquel Bosch (miquelbosch@uic.es)
Introduction
Cells do not live in isolation: they have evolved a variety of signalling mechanisms to accomplish the transmission of biological information. Cell signalling is an up-and-coming area of biomedical investigation that is gaining prominence due to advances in biophysical methods and their integration with molecular biology, biochemistry and genetics.
The course focus on cell communication. As such, it offers an overview on how cells exploit signalling components to assemble the specific biological pathways, which they ultimately require to communicate which one other and adapt to the outside environment.
Pre-course requirements
No prerequisite course required; however, knowledge concepts of molecular and cell biology from the previous modules are strongly advised.
Objectives
The aim of this course is to provide the knowledge on basic and health-related cell signalling. After course completion, the student will understand the main signalling pathways governing the transmission of cellular messages, as well as biochemical and molecular aspects associated with information transmission.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- Understand and recognize the effects, mechanisms and manifestations of cell communication on cellular functions.
- Transmit in a clear and unambiguous way to a specialised or non-specialised audience, the results of scientific and technological research projects and innovation from the field of the most advanced innovation, as well as the most important concepts which they are based on.
- Understand, critically evaluate and know how to use sources of clinical and biomedical information to obtain, organize, interpret and communicate scientific and health care information.
- Be able to formulate hypotheses, collect and critically evaluate information for problem solving using the scientific method.
- Ability for critical thinking, creativity and constructive skepticism with a focus on research within professional practice.
Learning outcomes of the subject
At the completion of this course, students will be able to:
• Identify and summarize the key principles of cell communication.
• Apply main concepts of cell signalling to draw conclusions from research literature to case studies.
• Review the relevant literature to position the proposed study within the existing research.
• Elaborate information from scientific literature into effective and informative oral scientific presentations.
Syllabus
Theme 1. General Principles of Cell Communication
Theme 2. Characterization of Signalling Components
Theme 3. Integration and Amplification of Signals
Theme 4. Receptors
Theme 5. Messengers
Theme 6. G-protein Signal Trasduction
Theme 7. cAMP
Theme 8. Serine/ Threonine Kinases/Phosphatases
Theme 9. Cell signalling and Calcium
Theme 10. Cell signaling and Apoptosis
Theme 11. Cell signalling in Translational Control and Protein Synthesis
Theme 12. Cell signalling in Neuroscience
Theme 13. Signalling Defects and Diseases
Teaching and learning activities
In blended
- Theory classes (lectures and cases): online (in streaming). Half of the students in the classroom and half of the students online. By using Collaborate on Moodle. - Practical classes: face-to-face class in small groups.
Bibliography and resources
Alberts B, et al. Molecular Biology of the Cell. 6th edition. Garland Science, 2015.
Alberts B. et al., Essential Cell Biology. Fourth edition (2013), or fifth edition (2018). Garland Science.
Lodish H, et al. Molecular Cell Biology. 7th edition Macmillan Learning, 2013 (8th edition, 2016).
Alberts, B et al. Biología Molecular de la Célula. 6ª edición. Ediciones Omega 2016.
Lodish et al. Biología Celular y Molecular. 7ª edición. Editorial Médica Panamericana S.A. 2016.
Evaluation period
- E1 25/05/2021 I3 11:00h
- E2 21/06/2021 16:00h