ECTS
15 credits
Component
Faculty of Science
List of courses
Choice of 3 out of 3
Statistics applied to biology
5 creditsStructural Biology
5 creditsCellular communications and signalling
5 credits
Statistics applied to biology
ECTS
5 credits
Component
Faculty of Medicine
Cellular communications and signalling
ECTS
5 credits
Component
Faculty of Science
The main communication pathways between normal cells and intracellular transduction pathways, encountered in physiological and neurophysiological mechanisms, will be discussed, such as G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs), their structure, function and modulation by interacting proteins involved in the desensitization phenomenon. The main intracellular pathways activated by GPCRs will be discussed (MAPkinase, PI3kinase, etc...).
Secondly, an important part of the course will focus on calcium signaling and Ca2+ homeostasis; Ca2+ being a ubiquitous signal in cell signaling. Calcium homeostasis will be studied in particular during the response of lymphocytes after antigenic stimulation. Moreover, the production of oxygenated free radicals, at the origin of oxidative stress, is dependent on intracellular Ca2+. The physiological role of free radicals will be discussed, as well as their involvement in oxidative stress. In this context, the pathways of protection against oxidative stress will also be studied.The following chapter will address the endocannabinoid system which allows to recapitulate all the themes that will be evoked previously in the course. The endocannabinoid system is at the origin of multiple central and peripheral regulations.
Finally, two other themes will be addressed: the blood-brain barrier which allows to evoke the cellular communication in a very integrated way between two environments and the -pancreatic cell whose activity is crucial for the regulation of glycemia by the secretion of insulin.