BIOCHIMICA GENERALE E BIOCHIMICA CLINICA APPLICATA ALLE BIOTECNOLOGIE M - Z

Module BIOCHIMICA GENERALE

Provide students with a solid understanding of: structure, function and regulation of biological macromolecules, main metabolic pathways and interconnections of glucose, lipid and amino acid interest, degradation and recovery of purine and pyrimidine bases, mechanisms and regulation of enzyme activities.

Teaching is delivered through lectures: these mainly involve the frontal presentation of the topics in power point format by the teacher with reference to the texts adopted and recently published scientific works. Intermediate tests could be administered during the course, if requested by students, as a check on the level of study achieved.

Should teaching be carried out in mixed mode or remotely, it may be necessary to introduce changes with respect to previous statements, in line with the programme planned and outlined in the syllabus.

Oral exam on topics developed during the course: the student must demonstrate adequate knowledge and interpretative competence (evaluation criterion: quality of the contents), ability to connect and elaborate contents (evaluation criterion: ability to report examples), as well as expository ability (evaluation criterion: technical language property that must be relevant, clear and correct). For the assessment of learning, the work carried out during the hours of practice / tutoring will also be taken into consideration, i.e. the in-depth seminars, reports, papers and individual research. The evaluation of the test is expressed out of thirty
 
Learning assessment may also be carried out on line, should the conditions require it.

Information for students with disabilities and / or SLD: To guarantee equal opportunities and in compliance with the laws in force, interested students can ask for a personal interview in order to plan any compensatory and / or dispensatory measures, based on the teaching objectives and specifications needs. It is also possible to contact the CInAP contact person (Center for Active and Participatory Integration - Services for Disabilities and / or SLD) of the Department of Biomedical and Biotechonological Sciences.
 

Hemoproteins involved in the transport of gases (O2, CO2): myoglobin and hemoglobin: structures and function. Bohr effect, saturation curve, Hill graph, homotropic and heterotropic interactions of hemoglobin. The effect of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate. Heterogeneity of circulating hemoglobin: methemoglobin, fetal hemoglobin, glycosylated hemoglobin. Methemoglobin reductase, glutathione (GSH) and NADPH for the maintenance of hemoglobin function. G-6-PDH deficiency, hemoglobin oxidation, malaria. Overview of abnormal hemoglobin. The biochemical catalysis. – Chemical catalysts and biological catalysts. Enzymes: classification. Coenzymes and general description of vitamins. Michaelis-Menten equation. Km, Vmax, number of turnover, Kcat/Km. The double reciprocal graph. Effect of pH and temperature on enzymatic activity. irreversible inhibition. Reversible inhibition: competitive, non-competitive, uncompetitive and mixed. Effect of different types of inhibitors on the double reciprocal graph. Multienzymatic complexes. Allosteric regulation of enzyme activity. Introduction to metabolism: general organization - Concept of pathways and metabolic maps. Degradative pathways (catabolism) and biosynthetic pathways (anabolism). Bioenergetics. Energetically charged molecules. Utilization of biochemical energy in the cell. Biochemical roles of coenzymes (structure and function). General mechanisms of metabolism regulation - hormone control, feedback regulation, allosteric enzymes, zymogens, isoenzymes, amplification cascade, compartmentalization, gene regulation. The biochemical reactions of glycolysis – Regulation of glycolysis: hexokinase, phosphofructokinase, pyruvatokinase. Pyruvic acid oxidation: the pyruvic dehydrogenase multienzyme complex and its reaction mechanism. Reduction of pyruvic acid: lactic dehydrogenase. Glycogen degradation – Glycogen phosphorylase and its regulation. Reactions of the citric acid cycle – Regulation of the cycle. Reactions of the pentose phosphate pathway – Biochemical significance. Oxidative phosphorylation - The mitochondrion as the energy center of the cell. The scales of redox potentials of molecules of biological importance. Electron transport machinery: structure and functions of complexes I, II, III and IV. Iron-sulphur centres. The Q cycle in complex III. Transmembrane complexes and proton transport. Electrochemical potentials in electron transport. Use of oxygen. ATP synthase: structure and mechanism of action. Reactions of beta-oxidation of fatty acids – introduction to the activation of lipolysis and transport of free fatty acids. Activation and transport in the mitochondrion: acyl-CoA synthetase, carnitine and the acylcarnitine-carnitine transporter. The reactions of beta-oxidation. Energy efficiency and control. Ketogenesis. Metabolism of amino acids: transamination. The shuttle system: functions and metabolic roles. The oxidative deamination of amino acids. - Urea cycle. Activation of ammonia: carbamyl phosphate synthetase. The reactions of the cycle and its compartmentalization. Nucleotide degradation – Catabolism and recovery pathways of purines and pyrimidines. Heme degradation. Biosynthetic pathways. Gluconeogenesis – The carboxylation reaction of pyruvate and the reactions of gluconeogenesis. Relationships between gluconeogenesis and glycolysis. Glycogen biosynthesis. Cholesterol biosynthesis. Notes on chromatographic separations and spectrophotometry

1) D. Voet, J.G. Voet, Fondamenti di Biochimica, Ed. Zanichelli
2) Matthews, Van Holde et al., Biochimica, Ed. Piccin
3) Nelson, M.M.Cox, Principi di Biochimica di Lehninger, Ed. Zanichelli

4) Campbell & Farrell, Biochimica, EdiSES
5) Garrett e Grisham, Principi di Biochimica, Ed. Piccin

6) Tinti B., Chimica organica – Biochimica – Biotecnologie- 2020, ed. Piccin

7) David Sadava David M. Hillis H. Craig Heller May R. Berenbaum , From Biochemistry to Biotechnology- 2014 Zanichelli

Oral test on topics developed during the course: the student must demonstrate adequate knowledge and interpretative competence (assessment criterion: quality of contents), ability to connect and elaborate contents (assessment criterion: ability to report examples), as well as presentation ability (evaluation criterion: ownership of technical language which must be relevant, clear and correct).

Verification of learning can also be carried out electronically, should conditions require it

Grade 29-30 with honors: The student has an in-depth knowledge of Biochemistry, can promptly and correctly integrate and critically analyze presented situations, autonomously solve complex problems, and has excellent communication skills while mastering medical-scientific language.

Grade 26-28: The student has good knowledge of Biochemistry, can integrate and critically analyze presented situations in a linear manner, autonomously solve complex problems to some extent, and presents topics clearly using appropriate medical-scientific language.

Grade 22-25: The student has a fair knowledge of Biochemistry, albeit limited to the main topics. They can integrate and critically analyze presented situations in a non-linear manner and present topics fairly clearly with moderate language proficiency.

Grade 18-21: The student has minimal knowledge of Biochemistry, with limited ability to integrate and critically analyze presented situations. They present topics sufficiently clearly, although their language proficiency is not well-developed.

Failed Examination: The student lacks the minimum required knowledge of the main course content. Their ability to use specific language is extremely limited or nonexistent, and they cannot apply acquired knowledge independently.