Registry

Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2012 - 2013
Please note that this information is subject to change.

Module Title	Cell Culture & Tissue Biochemistry
Module Code	BE314
School	School of Biotechnology
Online Module Resources
Module Co-ordinator	Semester 1: Rosaleen Devery Semester 2: Rosaleen Devery Autumn: Rosaleen Devery
Module Teacher	Rosaleen Devery
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5
Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

Description

This module will introduce students to the growth of microbial and animal cells in culture, the scale up of cells into large scale fermentations and the products produced from them. It will reflect the latest advances in cell biology and biochemistry that are important to understanding human diseases (cancer, atherosclerosis) and current approaches to treatment.

Learning Outcomes

1. Compare and contrast the culture of animal cells, bacterial cells and viruses.
2. Discuss the problems associated in scaling up growth and describe methods for the measurement of growth in fermentations.
3. List a range of products formed during culture and discuss the factors involved in the formations.
4. Integrate roles of genes, proteins and lipids in the regulation of cell growth
5. Describe acquired capabilities of cancer cells, examples of their functional importance in human cancers and potential molecular targets for therapies
6. Describe the basic pathology of atherosclerosis- cellular events, cellular interactions, cell-lipid relationships and potential molecular targets for therapies.

Workload	Full-time hours per semester
*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Lecture	36	No Description
Independent learning	89	No Description
Total Workload: 125

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Overview of Fermentation Technology.
Microbial Cell Culture,Introduction and types of culture, Ways of measuring growth, Medium formulations, Solid state fermentations, Product formation,.

Animal Cell culture.
Introduction and types of animal cell culture, Aspectic technique, Growth media ,Growth factors, Large scale animal cell culture, Products produced by animal cell culture, Genetic manipulation, Toxicity testing, Cancer Biology.

Tumour cells and onset of cancer.
a. Genetic basis of cancerb. Oncogenic mutations in growth-promoting proteinsc. Mutations that decrease activity of growth-inhibiting pathways and the cell cycle control system.

Hallmarks of Cancer.
a. Self-sufficiency in growth signalsb. Insensitivity to antigrowth signalsc. Evasion of apoptosisd. Limitless replicative potentiale. Sustained angiogenesisf. Tissue invasion and metastasis.

Signalling pathways in cancer cells.
a. Ras-MAPK pathwayb. TGFï¢ pathwayc. APC and Wnt Signalling pathwayd. Phosphoinositides, AKT (PKB) and PTENe. Receptor tyrosine kinases.

Chemotherapy treatments & Multidrug resistance transport proteins in cancer.
a. Antimetabolitesb. Alkylating agentsc. Antibioticsd. Plant-derived drugse. ABC transporter proteins I (e.g. P-gp).

Molecular targeted therapies for cancer.
a. Herceptinb. Gleevec.

Lipidomics and Proteomics I:.
Role in biomarker discovery & cancer screening.

Phospholipids, sphingolipids and Cholesterol.
a. Synthesisb. Intracellular movement.

Lipid movement into and out of cells.
a. ABC transporter proteins II (e,g. ABCB4, ABCB11, ABCG5/8b. Lipoproteinsc. Receptor-mediated endocytosis of LDLd. Receptor-facilitated uptake of HDLe. Reverse cholesterol transport by HDL.

Feedback regulation of cellular lipid metabolism.
a. SREBP transcription factorsb. Nuclear Receptor Superfamily- LXR, FXR, RXR.

Cell Biology of Atherosclerosis.
a. Arterial inflammationb. Import of cholesterolc. LDLR-independent uptake of LDL.

Molecular targeted therapies for atherosclerosis.
a. Statin therapyb. Bile acid –binding resin therapy.

Lipidomics & Proteomics II:.
Role in biomarker discovery & atherosclerosis screening.

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment	0%	Examination Weight	100%

Course Work Breakdown
Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date

Reassessment Requirement
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; 1 = A resit is available for all components of the module 2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module 3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
This module is category 1

Indicative Reading List

Lodish Baltimore Berk Zipursky Matsudaire Darnell;: 2004, Molecular Cell Biology, 5th, Chapters 7, 14, 18 and 23, WH Freeman and Company,
Becker Kleinsmith Hardin: 2006, The World of the Cell, 6th, 14, 24, Pearson Benjamin Cummings, US, 0-321-31208
Gerald Karp: 2005, Cell and molecular biology : concepts and experiments, 4th, John Wiley, 0471465801
Masters: 0, Animal Cell Culture,
A.L. Demain.: 0, 'Manual of Industrial Microbiololgy and Biotechnology,
R.I. Freshney.: 0, Animal Cell Culture: A Practical Approach,
P.F. Stanbury and A. Whitaker: 0, Priciples of fermentation technology,
S.J. Prit: 0, Principles of Microbial and Cell Cultivation,
R.I. Freshney: 0, Culture of Animal Cells: A Manual of Basic Technique,