year-2-study-guide-2.. - School of Medicine - Trinity College Dublin

Molecular mechanisms of cell interactions (2 lectures)
Lecturer: Prof. Yuri Volkov
Summary of the topics covered:
Main groups of adhesion molecules, their structural aspects and functional role.
Integrins as mediators of cell interactions between each other and extracellular
matrix.
Immunoglobulin-like adhesion ligands. Inside-out and outside-in signals triggered in
cells by integrins. Selectins, cadherins, CD44 and related molecules. Diseases
associated with abnormal expression and function of adhesion molecules.
Molecular mechanisms of cell interactions, leukocyte migration and
recirculation (3 lectures)
Prof. Yuri Volkov
Summary of the topics covered:
Main groups of adhesion molecules, their structural aspects and functional role.
Integrins as mediators of cell interactions between each other and extracellular
matrix.
Immunoglobulin-like adhesion ligands. Inside-out and outside-in signals triggered in
cells by integrins. Selectins, cadherins, CD44 and related molecules. Diseases
associated with abnormal expression and function of adhesion molecules.
Multi-step leukocyte navigation paradigm. Mechanistic models of leukocyte migration.
Membrane receptors and soluble factors affecting leukocyte homing.
Chemokines, their classification and disease-specific importance. Leukocyte
recirculation routes. Multi-factorial mechanisms of cell directed leukocyte recruitment
from the blood vessels into disease sites.
Cell signalling and transcriptional regulation of inflammation (2 lectures)
Lecturer: Prof. Andrew Bowie
Summary of the topics covered:
Molecular mediators of inflammation. The role of Toll-like receptors and nucleotidebinding
oligomerisation domain proteins in infection and inflammation. IL-1 as a
factor affecting gene expression. NFkB and inflammatory process development.
Tumour necrosis factor and caspases in inflammation.
Molecular mechanisms of cancer (6 lectures)
Lecturer: Prof. Dermot Kelleher, Dr. Maureen O’Sullivan
Summary of the topics covered:
DNA transcription and translation. Basics of genetic mutation - heritability, germline
versus somatic changes and mechanistic effects of mutations. DNA repair
mechanisms.
Cell cycle and apopotosis. Epigenetics: DNA methylation, histones, miRNAs role in
health, development and disease. Animal models of disease - xenografts, knock-out
models, conditional models.
Cancer – an overview. What cancer is and what it looks like – examples of tumours
from different sites and the potential for diverse mechanisms of oncogenesis. Solid
tumours – gastrointestinal tumours and the inflammation – cancer sequence.
Haematological malignancies. Genetic abnormalities associated with blood cell
malignancies. BCR-ABL and AML1 genes in leukaemia. Skin tumours and the role
of UV-radiation.
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