FA802: Mechanistic Toxicology (5 ECTS)

STADS: 04016101

Level
Master's level course

Teaching period
The course is offered in the autumn semester.

Teacher responsible
Email: klp@biology.sdu.dk

Timetable
Show entire timetable
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Prerequisites:
Bachelor degree. The course is only offered students of Pharmacy.

The course cannot be chosen by students, who have passed BB807.

Academic preconditions:
Students taking the course are expected to:

• Have knowledge of basic toxicology, chemistry and biochemistry
• Be able to use basic chemical and biochemical knowledge to recognise chemical and cellular structures

Course introduction
The aim of the course is to enable the student to understand, at the molecular level, the mechanisms behind toxicity and the relations between the cellular defence systems against toxicity. Further, the long-term adaptions of the cellular response to chemical stress through epigenetic mechanisms will be introduced.

The course builds on the knowledge acquired in the courses BB523 and BB524.

In relation to the competence profile of the degree it is the explicit focus of the course to:

• Give the competence to understand  advanced toxicological original research papers
• Give skills to generalise about the fate of chemicals from their chemical structure
• Give knowledge and understanding of molecular mechanisms of toxicity and defence systems against toxicicity

Expected learning outcome
The learning objectives of the course are that the student demonstrates the ability to:

• Describe the biochemical pathways leading to the bioactivation of selected chemicals
• Predict the metabolic fate of compounds from their chemical structure
• Describe the molecular mechanisms behind the deleterious effects of selected chemicals on membranes, proteins and DNA
• Discuss processes leading to necrosis ad apoptosis
• Discuss impact and timing of toxic manifestations in the cell
• Describe the molecular mechanisms behind the deleterious effects of selected chemicals on energy production and metabolism
• Discuss toxic effects on the organ level as a consequence of molecular events
• Describe the cellular defence systems against oxidative stress, metals and lipophilic compounds
• Discuss the interrelation between defence systems and the consequences of suppression of sub-systems
• Describe the mechanisms and effects of epigenetic changes
• Give an oral presentation of a toxicological topic based on a study of original scientific literature

Subject overview
The following main topics are contained in the course:

• Cellular transport of xenobiotics; selective accumulation and organ specific toxicity.
• Bioactivation of compounds by the Phase-I and Phase-II systems
• Oxidative stress, free radicals and lipid peroxidation of cell membranes
• Covalent binding of chemicals to biological macromolecules
• The energy production of the cell as a target for xenobiotics
• Apoptosis and necrosis
• Epigenetic changes

Literature
There isn't any litterature for the course at the moment.

Website
This course uses e-learn (blackboard).

Prerequisites for participating in the exam
None

Assessment and marking:
Written exam without exam aids, however ChemBioDraw is allowed. External marking, Danish 7-mark scale.

The mode of exam at the re-examination may differ from the mode of exam at the ordinary exam.

Expected working hours
The teaching method is based on three phase model.
Intro phase: 25 hours
Skills training phase: 25 hours, hereof:
 - Tutorials: 25 hours

Educational activities

Educational form
Activities during the study phase: Preparation of a short talk (20 min) based on a literature study.

Language
This course is taught in English, if international students participate. Otherwise the course is taught in Danish.

Course enrollment
See deadline of enrolment.

Tuition fees for single courses
See fees for single courses.