Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the student must be able to

• Understand the main mechanisms by which an animal cell responds to a molecular mediator such as a growth factor or hormone

• To evaluate the possibilities of exploiting the signaling pathways for therapeutic approaches, for example in oncology or to fight against inflammation

 

Goals

Introduce the student to signal transduction, by focusing on 3 categories of receptors, receptors coupled to G proteins, receptors with tyrosine kinase activity and nuclear receptors, but also to transcription and transcription factors, main targets of signal transduction. The course also aims to review lipid mediators that play a central role in inflammation, whether pro- or anti-inflammatory.

Content

1.     Introduction to signal transduction 
• General principles of signaling 
• Importance of phosphorylation, kinases and phosphatases 
• Secondary and activatable transcription factors
 
2.      G protein-coupled receptors 
• General presentation of GPCR receptors and their membrane insertion model 
• G proteins and regulation of their activity 
• Adenylate cyclase and protein kinase A 
• Phospholipase C and protein kinase C 
• Examples of agonists and antagonists 
 
3.     Receptors with tyrosine kinase activity 
• General presentation 
• PDGF receptors 
• MAP kinases pathway
• Examples of other TKR 
• Examples of inhibitors and clinical interest in oncology 
 
4.      Introduction to transcription and transcription factors
 
5.     Nuclear receptors  
• General introduction
• Glucocorticoid receptors and PPARs
 
6.     Lipid mediators of inflammation and their receptors 
• Arachidonic acid Phospholipases and phospholipases
• Pathways of cyclooxygenases, prostaglandins and receptors
• Pathways of lipoxygenases, leukotrienes and receptors
• The resolving lipids and their receptors
• Anti-inflammatory therapy and drugs (master 2 – Biochimie approfondie SCHIM208)
 
7.     Overview of some cell and molecular biology based assays used in high throughput screening (HTS)

Assessment method

The student has to submit a written assignment. The topic is chosen by the student in cooperation with the teacher and must remain linked to the topics covered during the course. The student must approach the work, using his knowledge and skills accumulated in his curriculum and demonstrate that he or she is able to critically approach a scientific question by integrating data from the literature. The topic of the work, can - when possible - be articulated with the thematic of the master thesis. Clear instructions are presented at the beginning of the course and posted on WebCampus.

Language of instruction

Français