Undergraduate Course: Receptors, signalling and regulation of cell responsiveness (BIME10007)
Course Outline
| School | Deanery of Biomedical Sciences |
College | College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | Receptor-mediated signal transduction is a key process through which extracellular molecules such as neurotransmitters, hormones, growth factors exert controlling influences on receptive cells. A wide variety of ligands, receptor types and intracellular signals allows pleiotropic control of physiological, metabolic and neural activity.
The integration of positive and negative influences underpins normal systems function but intracellular signals can crucially also drive alterations in cellular responsiveness to allow for adaptive physiological responses in the nervous system and peripheral tissues. Dysfunction in these processes can underlie pathology, so targeting the molecules and molecular interactions involved is the core theme of many pharmacological therapeutic strategies.
The content will focus on the properties and influences of G protein-coupled receptors but will include other receptor types where relevant. We will investigate structure and function, signal transduction and downstream pathways, protein:protein interactions, endocytosis and recycling and newly discovered areas of signalling. We will then focus on related mechanisms such as phosphorylation, protein docking and trafficking, effects on transcription and translation and how these bring about plasticity of responsiveness in normal and pathological conditions in both neurons and examples of peripheral cell types. We will further evaluate whether specific molecular interactions in these processes could represent targets for novel pharmacological agents to treat unmet therapeutic needs.
The course will consist of a mixture of lectures and seminars, with focused workshop/debate and tutorial sessions. The in-course assessment will involve a short Powerpoint presentation of a relevant research paper (10% of total mark) and a succinct written analysis of a recent ¿Trends-type¿ review article (10% of total mark).
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| Course description |
Course contributor: Rory Mitchell
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Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
It is RECOMMENDED that students have passed
Biomedical Sciences 3 (BIME09008)
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Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | Students who are either enrolled on the BSc (Hons) Medical Sciences, or who spent their third year abroad, or who are taking an intercalated year, are exempt from the requirement to have taken and passed Biomedical Sciences 3 |
| Additional Costs | None |
Course Delivery Information
| Not being delivered |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- At the end of this course students should be able to: understand key concepts in receptor biology, signal transduction and processes by which receptor-mediated intracellular signals can modify cell responsiveness, both in the nervous system and in peripheral tissues.
- Understand how established or potential new drugs interacting with these targets might provide therapeutic benefit.
- Interpret original experimental data and discuss the significance of the findings.
- Demonstrate the ability to openly debate scientific issues.
- Demonstrate the ability to illustrate and present relevant information in a Powerpoint presentation.
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | RSR |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Sue Fleetwood-Walker
Tel: (0131 6)51 1696
Email: |
Course secretary | Miss Kara Young
Tel: (0131 6)50 3160
Email: |
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