Cells, Molecules and Genes

Cell, Molecules and Genes course addresses the basic cellular and molecular biology processes as well as of the consequences of their pathological alterations. The importance of approaches of molecular biology as diagnostic and/or therapeutic tools is underlined. The module of molecular biology provides students with a deep knowledge of the molecular mechanisms involved in the main processes of the flow of genetic information and their possible involvements in pathological conditions. Students are introduced to the approaches of molecular biology useful to perform biomedical research, diagnose the molecular consequences of genetic mutations and/or develop novel therapeutic approaches. The Biology module provides insights into the cell life cycle, the models that are used in biomedical and preclinical research from cells to animals with a focus on stem cells and their use, not only as models but also as fundamental tools in regenerative medicine. Cell communication and its relevance in the control of fundamental cellular processes like cell cycle progression, cell proliferation, and cell death are analyzed in depth and the contribution of impaired cell communications to human pathologies will be examined.

Students are expected to achieve knowledge on:
· differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells;
· cell ultrastructure, morphology and structure of organelles and their main functions;
· main cellular and animal models used to understand the basic cellular mechanisms and to model human pathologies;
· structure and function of the main cellular macromolecules (nucleic acids and proteins)
· the molecular basis of genetic information maintenance (replication and repair), its expression and regulation (transcription, transcription maturation, protein synthesis, epigenetics);
· main molecular biology techniques useful for analyzing the DNA sequence, studying gene expression, even at a global level;
· the importance of molecular biology for the diagnosis and treatment of some human pathologies;
· the communication mechanisms between cells, signal transduction within cells, replication regulation, stem cell formation, cell death and neoplastic transformation;
· the different mechanisms of receptor activation and their regulation with the aim of understanding the intracellular signaling pathways and their impact on cell physiology.