Course syllabus
Krebs cycle
Chemical reactions and regulation; catabolic and anabolic functions; anaplerotic reactions.
Carbohydrate digestion, absorption and metabolism: chemical reactions, regulation and functions.
Glucose metabolism: aerobic and anaerobic glycolysis; pentose phosphate shunt; glycogenosynthesis and glycogenolysis; gluconeogenesis.
Fructose (fructolysis) and galactose metabolism.
Other metabolic fates of glucose: synthesis of glucuronic acid, lactose and polyol via.
Interconversion pathway of sugars, synthesis of glycosaminoglycans and glycoproteins (outline).
Lipid digestion, absorption and metabolism metabolism: chemical reactions, regulation and functions.
Fatty acid biosynthesis. Elongation and desaturation reactions. Triglyceride metabolism. Oxidation of fatty acids (mitochondrial, peroxisomal and microsomal). Ketogenesis.
Non-energy fatty acid destinies: biosynthesis of membrane lipids (glycerolphospholipids, sphingulfospholipids and sphingoglycolipids). Synthesis and functions of eicosanoids and endocannabinoids (outline).
Biosynthesis and metabolic fate of cholesterol: metabolism of acids and bile salts and steroid hormones.
Biosynthesis and intravascular metabolism of lipoproteins (chylomicrons, VLDL, LDL and HDL).
Protein digestion and amino acid absorption and metabolism: chemical reactions, regulation and functions.
Removal reactions of the amino group (transamination and oxidative and non-oxidative deamination) and of ammoniacation (reduction amination, amidation and carbamoylphosphate synthesis).
Circulation transport and elimination of ammonia: urea cycle and glutamine metabolism in the kidney
Biosynthesis and catabolism of amino acids (essential and non-essential amino acids, glucogenetics and / or ketogenetics; donor amino acids of monocarboniose units).
Main anabolic fates of amino acids: synthesis and functions of carnitine, creatine, S-adenosyl-methionine, taurine, glutathione, nitric oxide, biogenic amines and polyamines.
Nucleic acid digestion, absorption and metabolism of nitrogenous bases and nucleotides
Chemical reactions and regulation of de novo biosynthesis and recovery pathways. Nucleotide catabolism.
Vitamins
Nutritional sources, structure, metabolism and functions of water-soluble vitamins [lipoic acid, pantothenic acid, thiamine (vit. B1), pyridoxine (vit. B6), biotin (vit. H); folic acid (vit. B9); cobalamin (vit. B12)].
Nutritional sources, structure, metabolism and function of liposoluble vitamins (vit. A, vit. D, vit. E and vit. K).
Oxygen free radicals (ROS) and antioxidant defenses
Origin of radical species and mechanisms of damage to cellular structures. Enzymatic defense systems against oxidative stress; vitamin E, vitamin C and natural antioxidants.
Hormones and receptors
Classification, biosynthesis, plasma transport, target tissues and metabolic effects of anterior and posterior pituitary hormones; pancreatic hormones; adrenal hormones; sex hormones (androgens, estrogens and progestins); thyroid hormones; parathyroid hormones.
Signal transduction and intracellular messengers (cAMP, cGMP, inositol triphosphate, Ca2 +).
Organ biochemistry
The liver and its metabolic activities: carbohydrate, lipid and amino acid metabolism.
Detoxification reactions: oxidations, hydroxylations, reductions, conjugations and cytochrome P450-dependent enzyme systems.
Haem metabolism: biosynthesis and catabolism.
Ethanol metabolism and toxicity.
Skeletal muscle and its metabolic activities: carbohydrate, lipid and amino acid metabolism.
Purine nucleotide cycle. Alanine cycle. Cycle of Choirs.
Classification of muscle fibers and energy metabolism of white and red fibers. ATP synthesis systems (creatine kinase and myokinase).
Energy metabolism of muscle at rest and during exercise.
Adipose tissue and its metabolic activities: carbohydrate and lipid metabolism.
Metabolic characteristics of white and brown adipose tissue.
Nervous tissue and its metabolic activities: carbohydrate, lipid and amino acid metabolism.
Metabolic utilization of branched chain amino acids.
Synthesis and degradation of neurotransmitters.
Erythrocyte and its metabolic activities: anaerobic glycolysis, pentose phosphate shunt, pathway to purine bases.
Oxidative damage and protection systems against oxidative stress.
Metabolic interrelationships between organs in post-prandial and fasting (physiological and prolonged) states
Dismetabolic aspects of diabetes mellitus
Prerequisites for admission
The course is aimed at students who have acquired the elements provided by the General Biochemistry course and notions of organic chemistry. In particular, the student must know the structural, chemical and physical properties of the main organic biomolecules (with both simple and macromolecular structure) of specific relevance for the human organism, as well as their functions. The knowledge of the elements of kinetics and thermodynamics of chemical processes is also a prerequisite for the full understanding of the chemical reactions that make up the metabolic pathways and their regulation at both cellular and organ level.
Teaching Resources
Iconographic material of the lessons on the site
https://myariel.unimi.it/- N. Siliprandi, G. Tettamanti, "Biochimica Applicata Medica", Piccin, 5°ed., 2018
- D.L. Nelson, M.M. Cox, "I Principi di Biochimica di Lehninger", Zanichelli, 8°ed., 2022
- T.M.Devlin, "Biochimica con aspetti clinico-farmaceutici", EdiSES, 5° ed., 2013
Assessment methods and Criteria
The exam consists of an oral test, which includes the treatment of:
- a metabolic pathway and its regulation
- a vitamin
- a hormone
- the metabolism of an organ.
The exam is considered passed when the student demonstrates knowledge of the required topics.
The criterion for assigning the mark is established on the basis of the level reached by the student to expose his knowledge with appropriate terminology and to correlate the various topics with each other.
In each Academic Year 7 exam sessions will be fixed. These "ordinary" sessions will be scheduled only in the periods in which there is no provision of lessons, namely:
- 1 exam in the autumn suspension period of teaching (usually at the end of November);
- 2 exam sessions between the last week of January and the end of February;
- 1 exam in the spring suspension period of teaching (usually in April)
- 2 exam sessions between mid-June and late July;
- 1 session in September.
In each Academic Year, at the request of the students, two "extraordinary" sessions, reserved for students who are out of course and repeating, can be set even in periods in which there is no suspension of teaching activities (1 extraordinary "spring session" session in March or May; 1 extraordinary "autumn session" session in October or December).
