UNIVERSITY OF THE WEST INDIES

CAVE HILL CAMPUS

 FACULTY OF PURE & APPLIED SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT OF BIOLOGICAL & CHEMICAL SCIENCES

 BIOC3053 (BL38B) – CELL SIGNALLING

 

Intracellular Signalling (3)

 Polarity - unequal cell division and differentiation.  Selected examples including Acetabularia & Fucoid eggs.  Electrical fields and calcium.  [1-3]

Intercellular Signalling (23)

Hormones (3)

The classical hormone concept – hormone, receptor, effector.  Sexual pheromones in @lower@ organisms.  Cell signalling between unicells and the evolution of hormones.  Molecular approaches to studying hormone action [4-6].

Animal hormones (8)

Major categories of animal hormones and physiological effects.  Peptides & catecholamines - 2nd messenger concept, cAMP and G-proteins, protein phosphorylation, GPCRs. Other G-protein based systems.  The PI cycle and other effectors.  Steroid hormone action - classes of steroid hormones, historical background including puff induction and the 2 step model. Steroid receptors as gene regulatory proteins.  Gene activation.  [7-14]

Plant hormones (12)

Do plants have hormones?  Auxin and ethylene as inducers of wall “loosening”. Auxin biosynthesis and transport. Auxin binding protein and signal transduction - gene activation, proton pump hypothesis. Biochemistry of the dicot cell wall. Mechanisms for auxin-induced wall loosening. C2H4 biosynthesis and its modification by genetic engineering. The C2H4 receptor, 2-component signal transducers & C2H4-signal transduction. Ripening-related wall loosening & its manipulation [15‑26]

2004-01-14

CMSC