Learning objectives
<br />The student is expected to acquire basic knowledge of bacterial cells, viruses and immune phenomena.
Course unit content
<p><br />
BACTERIOLOGY</p>
<ul>
<li>
<div>Shape, size, spatial arrangement.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Structure of the prokaryotic cell: nucleus, cytoplasm, cytoplasmatic inclusions, ribosomes, plasmids, cytoplasmatic membrane, mesosomes, gram-positive and gram-negative walls, flagellum, adhesion organs, capsules, antigens.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Wall-defective bacteria: protoplasts, spheroplasts, L-forms.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Nutrition and metabolism: energy production, aerobiosis and anaerobiosis, respiration and fermentation, biosynthesis of the main cell elements.</div>
</li>
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<div>Culture: chemical-physical factors affecting bacterial replication, simple and complex, liquid and solid, enriching and selective isolating culture media.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Reproduction: splitting, growth curve and chemical-physical factors affecting it.</div>
</li>
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<div>Bacterial identification.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>General taxonomic characteristics: staphylococci, streptococci, corynebacteria, bacilli, clostridia, listeriae, actinomycetes, campylobacters, enterobacteria, moraxellae, bordetellae, neisseriae, pseudomonas, alcaligenes, aeromonas, vibrios, yersiniae, pasteurellae, brucellae, hemophyli, spirochete, mycobacteria, rickettsias, chlamydias, mycoplasmas.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Genetics: mutations, recombinations, (transformation, conjugation, transduction), phagic conversion, R plasmids and pathogenicity plasmids (pilus-like structures, Col, Ent, Hly).</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Biotechnology: basic concepts and techniques.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Pathogenic action: pathogenicity, virulence, infectivity, receptivity, infection, disease, healthy carrier; pathogenicity factors (adhesion structures, invasive factors, anti-phagocytic defence, endo- and exotoxin elaboration).</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Molecular techniques applied to diagnosis of infectious diseases: basic concepts.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Genesis and evolution of an infectious disease: primary lesion, dissemination, tropisms.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Basic knowledge of disinfection: aims, limits, main classes of disinfectants.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Antibiotics: classes and mechanisms of action.<br />
</div>
</li>
</ul>
<p>VIROLOGY<br />
</p>
<ul>
<li>Chemical composition, size and structure of complex, cubic-helical symmetry viruses, capsid, capsomers, peplos, peplomers</li>
<li>Bacteriophages: morphology and structure, lytic cycle and lysogenic cycle.</li>
<li>Interaction between viruses and eukaryotic cells attachment, penetration, replication, maturation, release</li>
<li>Culture: tissue cultures, cell cultures, animals, embryonated eggs. Viral replication culture and detection methods.</li>
<li>Virus titration: physical, biological, hemagglutination methods.</li>
<li>General taxonomic characteristics of DNA and RNA viruses .</li>
<li>Non-conventional infectious diseases<br />
</li>
</ul>
<p>IMMUNOLOGY<br />
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<div>Non-specific protection mechanisms of the skin and mucosa: structure, integrity, dynamic phenomena, normal bacterial flora.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Phagocytosis: professional and occasional phagocytes, opsonins, phagocytosis mechanisms, fate of phagocyted microorganisms, survival consequences.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Antigens: chemical-physical characters, determinants or epitopes, haptenes and carriers, immunogenicity, thymus-dependent and thymus-independent antigens.</div>
</li>
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<div>Humoral immunity: primary and secondary lymphoid organs, lymphocyte classes, antibody production, structure and classes of immunoglobulins, distribution.</div>
</li>
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<div>Local and cell-mediated immunity.</div>
</li>
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<div>Primary and secondary response, memory, lymphocyte recirculation.</div>
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<div>Active immunity: infection, vaccination, types of vaccine, methods of administration.</div>
</li>
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<div>Passive immunity: transplacental, colostral, by immune sera.</div>
</li>
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<div>Complement: components, classical and alternative activation route, functions.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Interferons: classes, production, biological meaning in antiviral defence and in the immune and delayed responses.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Immediate and delayed immune hypersensitivity.</div>
</li>
<li>
<div>Serological reactions: precipitation, agglutination, hemagglutination and its inhibition, neutralization, complement fixation, immunofluorescence, radioimmune and immunenzymatic techniques.</div>
</li>
</ul>
Bibliography
<br />ABBAS A.K., LICHTMAN A.H., POBER S.J.: Immunologia cellulare e molecolare, Piccin, Padova, 1993.<br />DAVIS B.D., DULBECCO R., EISEN H.N., GINSBERG H.S: Microbiology, Harper and Row, Hagerstown, IV ed.<br />POLI G., COCILOVO A.: Microbiologia e Immunologia Veterinaria, Utet, Torino, 2005.
