Cell Regulation and Signalling

Recommended Prerequisites

Cellular and Molecular Biology and Biochemistry.

Teaching Methods

Lectures on different themes and discussion of the normal mechanisms involved in the various pathways of regulation. Discussion of the impact of deregulation of the different mechanisms and their association with diseases.

This  will be complemented with the discussion of selected scientific articles.

Learning Outcomes

Describe how cell functioning is regulated at the molecular level, how errors in such regulation results into main patholo

Analyze the mechanisms of cell cycle regulation and cell death and how they contribute to homeostasis of the cell and the individual and its role in disease.

Analyze the cytoskeletal regulatory mechanisms in homeostasis of the cell and its role in diseases

Analyze the role of cell signaling pathways in cellular adaptation, to the environement and the stimuli.

Understand cellular sgnaling advanced approaches 

Discuss the role of kinases, phosphatases, modulators, ubiquitin and proteasome in the regulation of protein activity. 

Apply strategies of analyses and manipulation of gene expression or cellular localization of proteins by reporter genes, Western blotting, RT-PCR, Microarrays, and RNA interference. 

Building bridges from “omics” to cell biology

Identify the role of the different routes of cell signaling in normal embryonic development, in cancer and aging

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

Cell signalling, signal transduction pathways and its activation. Genes involved in signal transduction pathways. Regulation of protein activity.Regulation of gene expression.Signaling pathways important in embryonic development and proliferation: cell cycle and apoptosis. Deregulation of cell signaling: cancer. Tumor Suppressor Genes and oncogenes. Neoplastic progression. Cellular differentiation and cell differentiation models for the study of developmental biology. Growth and differentiation factors: stem cell factor, fibroblast growth factor, sonic hedgehog and (Notch). Stem cells: characteristics, types and applications. Stem cells in cancer. Induced Pluripotent Stem cells: what they are and what they promise for the future of science.

Head Lecturer(s)

Henrique Manuel Paixão dos Santos Girão

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Synthesis work: 40.0%
Mini Tests: 60.0%

Bibliography

Cooper, G.M., Hausman R.E. 2007. “The Cell- A Molecular Approach”, 4th edition. ASM Press, Washington, D.C., USA.

 

Alberts, B., Johnson, A., Lewis, J., Raff, M., Roberts, K. and Walter, P. 2002. “Molecular Biology of the Cell”, 4th edition. Garland Science, New York, USA.

 

Lodish, H., Berk, A., Matsudaira, P., Kaiser, C.A., Krieger, M., Scott, M.P., Zipursky, S.L. and Darnell, J. 2008. “Molecular Cell Biology”, 6th edition. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York, USA.

 

Nelson, D. L., Cox, M. M. 2008. “Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry”, 5th edition. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York, USA.