General pathology and physiopathology
A.Y. 2020/2021
Learning objectives
The course aims at providing knowledge in:
i) molecular mechanisms of damage at the cellular, tissue and organismic level,
ii) subcellular, cellular, tissue and organismic responses to damage,
iii) integration of the said elements towards the understanding of selected topics in physiopathology, iv) state-of-the-art in genomic medicine and precision medicine.
i) molecular mechanisms of damage at the cellular, tissue and organismic level,
ii) subcellular, cellular, tissue and organismic responses to damage,
iii) integration of the said elements towards the understanding of selected topics in physiopathology, iv) state-of-the-art in genomic medicine and precision medicine.
Expected learning outcomes
Students:
a) know the mechanisms of damage and of the responses to damage,
b) know the principles and the pathological implications of acute and chronic inflammation,
c) know the biological and molecular bases of cancer and the molecular rational of anti-cancer therapies,
d) possess integrated knowledge of physiopathology in selected topics including coagulation disorders, cancer, liver diseases, kidney diseases, endocrine diseases, bowel inflammatory diseases and neurodegenerations,
e) are capable of interpreting molecular profiles in genomic medicine.
a) know the mechanisms of damage and of the responses to damage,
b) know the principles and the pathological implications of acute and chronic inflammation,
c) know the biological and molecular bases of cancer and the molecular rational of anti-cancer therapies,
d) possess integrated knowledge of physiopathology in selected topics including coagulation disorders, cancer, liver diseases, kidney diseases, endocrine diseases, bowel inflammatory diseases and neurodegenerations,
e) are capable of interpreting molecular profiles in genomic medicine.
Lesson period: Second semester
Assessment methods: Esame
Assessment result: voto verbalizzato in trentesimi
Course syllabus and organization
Single session
Responsible
The lessons of the first semester from 21 September to 4 November 2020 were held in mixed mode:
in the classroom with a limited number of students, who have booked using their unified e-mail credentials through the "lessonsUnimi" app (https://www.unimi.it/it/studiare/frequentare-un-corso -degree / follow ...) and at the same time synchronously through the "Teams platform" for students not present; the lessons were also video-recorded to allow students unable for documented needs to follow them in sync.
From 5 November 2020 to 15 January 2021, face-to-face lessons have been suspended as per the Rector's Decree. Teaching continued remotely: the lessons were delivered through the Microsoft Teams platform, mostly in synchrony, almost always respecting the calendars approved for the current semester.
The lessons of the second semester will start in early March 2021 and will probably take place in mixed mode, with booking through the dedicated app, following the rules adopted in the first semester: in safety, in compliance with hygiene rules, with the use of PPE and observing the spacing.
NB for any further information, consult the unimi.it website: (Home Studying Attending a degree course Following the course of study Lesson times)
in the classroom with a limited number of students, who have booked using their unified e-mail credentials through the "lessonsUnimi" app (https://www.unimi.it/it/studiare/frequentare-un-corso -degree / follow ...) and at the same time synchronously through the "Teams platform" for students not present; the lessons were also video-recorded to allow students unable for documented needs to follow them in sync.
From 5 November 2020 to 15 January 2021, face-to-face lessons have been suspended as per the Rector's Decree. Teaching continued remotely: the lessons were delivered through the Microsoft Teams platform, mostly in synchrony, almost always respecting the calendars approved for the current semester.
The lessons of the second semester will start in early March 2021 and will probably take place in mixed mode, with booking through the dedicated app, following the rules adopted in the first semester: in safety, in compliance with hygiene rules, with the use of PPE and observing the spacing.
NB for any further information, consult the unimi.it website: (Home Studying Attending a degree course Following the course of study Lesson times)
Course syllabus
Cellular damage, biochemical and molecular mechanisms and functional implications
Concepts of etiology and pathogenesis. Reversible and irreversible cellular damage. Causes of cellular damage. Morphological aspects of damage and necrosis.
Mechanisms (biological, biochemical, molecular) of cellular damage.
Cellular responses and/or adaptation to stress and to damage.
Subcellular responses. Intracellular accumulations. Calcifications. Cellular aging.
Hypoxia, ischemia, hypoperfusion.
Apoptosis: physiology and pathology. Molecular mechanisms, morphological aspects.
Environment and nutrition as cause of damage.
Inflammation
General features of acute and chronic inflammation.
Acute inflammation: vascular modifications, cellular events e molecular mechanisms.
The chemistry of acute inflammation (amines, NO, complement, cytokines e chemokines). Correlation between biochemical features and morphological and functional aspects.
Inflammation as a systemic event: acute phase proteins, fever, other symptoms of acute phase.
Chronic inflammation: morphological aspects, functional aspects, molecular mechanisms.
Tissue repair and fibrosis.
Diseases characterized by marked inflammatory and degenerative aspects. Amyloidosis.
General Oncology
Cancer: definition, morphology, benign and malignant tumors.
Cancer epidemiology and risk factors. Genetics and inheritance in cancer.
Carcinogenesis: chemical, physical biological.
Stem cell theory of cancer.
Paraneoplastic syndromes.
Normal and cancer angiogenesis.
Cell autonomous and non-cell-autonomous mechanisms of cancer.
Metastasis.
Molecular Oncology
The concepts of oncogenes (dominant) and tumor suppressor gene (recessive). Multistep carcinogenesis.
Molecular bases of tumorigenesis: alterations of growth factors and growth factor receptors.
Molecular bases of tumorigenesis: mechanisms of receptor attenuation and their subversion.
Molecular bases of tumorigenesis: subversion of adhesion molecules.
Molecular bases of tumorigenesis: alterations of the intracellular mechanisms of signal transduction.
Molecular bases of tumorigenesis: protein:protein interactions, significance and alterations.
Molecular bases of tumorigenesis: cell cycle, checkpoints and their alterations.
Molecular bases of tumorigenesis: DNA damage response and its subversion.
Chromosomic translocations and fusion proteins: Burkitt's lymphoma, chronic myeloid leukemia, acute leukemias.
Molecular and rational basis of therapy. Chemoprevention.
Senescence and aging
Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), physiology and physio-pathology.
Cellular senescence: telomeres e telomerase, ROS, mitochondrial DNA.
Organismal aging. Theories of aging.
The human genome and the genomic medicine
The human genome and the model genomes. Relevance for BioMedicine.
Genomic databases in BioMedicine.
Molecular Medicine and diagnostic and therapeutic implications.
Technologies in BioMedicine in the post-genomic era.
Ethical implications. The physician in the post-genomic era.
Genomics and drug discovery.
Selected topics in physiopathology
Coagulations and diseases of coagulation.
Shock.
Atherosclerosis.
Liver diseases (Acute and chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis).
Bowel Inflammatory diseases.
Endocrine pathologies (diabetes, thyroid diseases)
Leukemias
Breast carcinoma
Colon carcinoma
Neurodegenerations.
Concepts of etiology and pathogenesis. Reversible and irreversible cellular damage. Causes of cellular damage. Morphological aspects of damage and necrosis.
Mechanisms (biological, biochemical, molecular) of cellular damage.
Cellular responses and/or adaptation to stress and to damage.
Subcellular responses. Intracellular accumulations. Calcifications. Cellular aging.
Hypoxia, ischemia, hypoperfusion.
Apoptosis: physiology and pathology. Molecular mechanisms, morphological aspects.
Environment and nutrition as cause of damage.
Inflammation
General features of acute and chronic inflammation.
Acute inflammation: vascular modifications, cellular events e molecular mechanisms.
The chemistry of acute inflammation (amines, NO, complement, cytokines e chemokines). Correlation between biochemical features and morphological and functional aspects.
Inflammation as a systemic event: acute phase proteins, fever, other symptoms of acute phase.
Chronic inflammation: morphological aspects, functional aspects, molecular mechanisms.
Tissue repair and fibrosis.
Diseases characterized by marked inflammatory and degenerative aspects. Amyloidosis.
General Oncology
Cancer: definition, morphology, benign and malignant tumors.
Cancer epidemiology and risk factors. Genetics and inheritance in cancer.
Carcinogenesis: chemical, physical biological.
Stem cell theory of cancer.
Paraneoplastic syndromes.
Normal and cancer angiogenesis.
Cell autonomous and non-cell-autonomous mechanisms of cancer.
Metastasis.
Molecular Oncology
The concepts of oncogenes (dominant) and tumor suppressor gene (recessive). Multistep carcinogenesis.
Molecular bases of tumorigenesis: alterations of growth factors and growth factor receptors.
Molecular bases of tumorigenesis: mechanisms of receptor attenuation and their subversion.
Molecular bases of tumorigenesis: subversion of adhesion molecules.
Molecular bases of tumorigenesis: alterations of the intracellular mechanisms of signal transduction.
Molecular bases of tumorigenesis: protein:protein interactions, significance and alterations.
Molecular bases of tumorigenesis: cell cycle, checkpoints and their alterations.
Molecular bases of tumorigenesis: DNA damage response and its subversion.
Chromosomic translocations and fusion proteins: Burkitt's lymphoma, chronic myeloid leukemia, acute leukemias.
Molecular and rational basis of therapy. Chemoprevention.
Senescence and aging
Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), physiology and physio-pathology.
Cellular senescence: telomeres e telomerase, ROS, mitochondrial DNA.
Organismal aging. Theories of aging.
The human genome and the genomic medicine
The human genome and the model genomes. Relevance for BioMedicine.
Genomic databases in BioMedicine.
Molecular Medicine and diagnostic and therapeutic implications.
Technologies in BioMedicine in the post-genomic era.
Ethical implications. The physician in the post-genomic era.
Genomics and drug discovery.
Selected topics in physiopathology
Coagulations and diseases of coagulation.
Shock.
Atherosclerosis.
Liver diseases (Acute and chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis).
Bowel Inflammatory diseases.
Endocrine pathologies (diabetes, thyroid diseases)
Leukemias
Breast carcinoma
Colon carcinoma
Neurodegenerations.
Prerequisites for admission
Based on the knowledge acquired in the "Biology and Genetics" and "Chemistry and Biochemistry" courses, students are expected to possess knowledge of the principles of cellular and subcellular organization, of the structure and function of biological macromolecules, of the molecular biology of the cell, of genetics, enzymology, bioenergetics and metabolic circuitries.
Teaching methods
The course comprises 12 CFU.
Of these, 9 are provided during the second semester of the second year of the master degree course. At the end of this phase, the students are admitted to the exam.
This part of the course is further subdivided in 8 CFU of "frontal" teaching (see the detailed program below) and 1 CFU of laboratory activity ("Attività Professionalizzanti"). Frontal teaching is based on the use of slides in Power Point. The slides are uploaded onto the Ariel website. For these latter activities, students are grouped into groups of 3 students, each assigned to a tutor, and spend three consecutive afternoons in the lab, participating "hands-on" on a mini-project in genomic medicine. These activities are designed to familiarize the students with the basic and translational research activities behind the concepts and the progresses in genomic and precision medicine.
Three CFUs are provided during the 5th year as a part of the integrated Clinical Medicine course (D53-153). These CFUs take up topics related to the pathological bases of diseases that represent an integral part of the General Pathology and Fisio-Pathology course of the 2nd year and, as such, are not object of additional examination. As a whole, these 3 CFUs represent a "Back to Basics" section that aims at highlighting the importance of discussing the different aspects and multifaceted implications of basic science for clinical medicine, in the perspective of a better patient care. The goal is to familiarize the students with cutting edge genomic and molecular knowledge and demonstrate, through the discussion of specific clinical cases and disease models, the relevance of basic research findings to the clinico-prognostic and therapeutic improvements in the clinical practice.
In addition to frontal teaching, the course also takes the form of teacher-guided lectures and seminars delivered by groups of 2/3 students, which represents an effective strategy to encourage active learning and communication, and develop critical-thinking and decision-making in relation to clinical problems.
Of these, 9 are provided during the second semester of the second year of the master degree course. At the end of this phase, the students are admitted to the exam.
This part of the course is further subdivided in 8 CFU of "frontal" teaching (see the detailed program below) and 1 CFU of laboratory activity ("Attività Professionalizzanti"). Frontal teaching is based on the use of slides in Power Point. The slides are uploaded onto the Ariel website. For these latter activities, students are grouped into groups of 3 students, each assigned to a tutor, and spend three consecutive afternoons in the lab, participating "hands-on" on a mini-project in genomic medicine. These activities are designed to familiarize the students with the basic and translational research activities behind the concepts and the progresses in genomic and precision medicine.
Three CFUs are provided during the 5th year as a part of the integrated Clinical Medicine course (D53-153). These CFUs take up topics related to the pathological bases of diseases that represent an integral part of the General Pathology and Fisio-Pathology course of the 2nd year and, as such, are not object of additional examination. As a whole, these 3 CFUs represent a "Back to Basics" section that aims at highlighting the importance of discussing the different aspects and multifaceted implications of basic science for clinical medicine, in the perspective of a better patient care. The goal is to familiarize the students with cutting edge genomic and molecular knowledge and demonstrate, through the discussion of specific clinical cases and disease models, the relevance of basic research findings to the clinico-prognostic and therapeutic improvements in the clinical practice.
In addition to frontal teaching, the course also takes the form of teacher-guided lectures and seminars delivered by groups of 2/3 students, which represents an effective strategy to encourage active learning and communication, and develop critical-thinking and decision-making in relation to clinical problems.
Teaching Resources
- Patologia Generale. Robbins e Cotran vol 1: Le basi patologiche delle malattie. VIII edizione. Elsevier
- Patologia Generale e Fisiopatologia generale - G.M. Pontieri. VI edizione. Piccin.
- Patologia Generale e Fisiopatologia generale - G.M. Pontieri. VI edizione. Piccin.
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam consists in a single oral examination. There are no intermediate tests.
The oral examination aims at evaluating the ability of the student to express him/herself with clarity, scientific rigor, and appropriate language on the topics of the course: a) molecular mechanisms of damage at the cellular, tissue and organismic level, b) subcellular, cellular, tissue and organismic responses to damage, c) integration of the said elements towards the understanding of selected topics in physiopathology, d) state-of-the-art in genomic medicine and precision medicine.
The oral exam last, on the average, 30-40 minutes and consists of the discussion of 3-4 general topics, selected among the general issues of cellular and tissue damage and organismal responses, acute and chronic inflammation, oncology, genomic medicine, and physiopathology. Within the discussion of each topics, there is further "ad hoc" deepening into single aspects of the problems.
The outcome of the exam is expressed in thirtieths.
The oral examination aims at evaluating the ability of the student to express him/herself with clarity, scientific rigor, and appropriate language on the topics of the course: a) molecular mechanisms of damage at the cellular, tissue and organismic level, b) subcellular, cellular, tissue and organismic responses to damage, c) integration of the said elements towards the understanding of selected topics in physiopathology, d) state-of-the-art in genomic medicine and precision medicine.
The oral exam last, on the average, 30-40 minutes and consists of the discussion of 3-4 general topics, selected among the general issues of cellular and tissue damage and organismal responses, acute and chronic inflammation, oncology, genomic medicine, and physiopathology. Within the discussion of each topics, there is further "ad hoc" deepening into single aspects of the problems.
The outcome of the exam is expressed in thirtieths.
MED/04 - EXPERIMENTAL MEDICINE AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGY - University credits: 9
Informal teaching: 16 hours
Lessons: 96 hours
Lessons: 96 hours
Professors:
Chiaramonte Raffaella, Dellino Gaetano Ivan, Di Fiore Pier Paolo, Malabarba Maria Grazia, Pece Salvatore, Pelicci Pier Giuseppe, Polo Simona Laura Anna, Scita Giorgio
Shifts:
Gruppi 1-2-3-4-5
Professor:
Di Fiore Pier PaoloGruppi 11-12-13-14-15
Professor:
Pece SalvatoreGruppi 15-16-17-18-19-20
Professor:
Scita GiorgioGruppi 21-22-23-24
Professor:
Chiaramonte RaffaellaGruppi 25-26-27
Professor:
Polo Simona Laura AnnaGruppi 28-29-30
Professor:
Dellino Gaetano IvanGruppi 31-32-33
Professor:
Malabarba Maria GraziaGruppi 6-7-8-9-10
Professor:
Pelicci Pier Giuseppe