Learning objectives
At the end of the course the students should demonstrate the understanding of the molecular basis of drug interaction with their biological targets. In detail, the student should be able to:
1) describe the biological function and mechanism of action of the main drug targets (KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING)
2) describe from a molecular point of view how drug-target interaction can interfere with the biological function of the target and thus modify the biological state of the cell (KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING)
3) identify correlations in the mechanism of action of different drug targets and establish connections between the mode of action of different ligands / inhibitors / agonists / antagonists (APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING)
4) explain the topics the course effectively with a language that uses appropriate scientific terminology (COMMUNICATION AND LEARNING SKILLS)
Prerequisites
Students should have a basic knowledge of Biochemistry, especially on the structure-activity relationship of proteins and on the mechanism of action of enzymes.
Course unit content
Definition of drug and drug target.
Binding properties of proteins.
Enzymes as drug target.
Treatment of HIV and NSAIDs as examples of the therapeutic use of enzyme inhibitors.
Receptors as drug targets.
Recombinant drugs.
Full programme
• Drug and drug target: definition
• Binding properties of proteins
• Enzymatic catalysis
• Intracellular receptors
• GPCRs
• Receptor tyrosine kinases
• Tyr kinase-associated receptors
• Receptor guanylyl cyclases
• Enzyme inhibition and rug discovery:
o Enzymes as drug targets
o Reversible inhibitors
o Irreversible inhibitors
o Tight-binding and slow-binding inhibitors
o NSAIDs
o Enzyme inhibition in HIV therapy
• Transporters
• Overview of recombinant drugs
Bibliography
Selected scientific papers and copy of slides can be downloaded from the Elly
website.
David L. Nelson, Michael M. Cox
I PRINCIPI DI BIOCHIMICA DI LEHNINGER 7 ed, ZANICHELLI. (7th Edition)
Lodish
Biologia Molecolare della Cellula
3 ed italiana, Zanichelli (6th Edition)
Copeland R. Evaluation of enzyme inhibition in drug discovery, Wiley.
Teaching methods
Oral lessons integrated with informatic tools and the support of multimedia
Assessment methods and criteria
The exam is either a written test (at the end of ths semester only) or an oral exam.
The written test will take place at the end of the teaching semester (pre-appello).
During the exam period the students can take the oral exam together with the Biological Physical Chemistry module.
Other information
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2030 agenda goals for sustainable development
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