 | | |
| PHYL0120-1 | General physiology
|
|
| Duration : | 30h Th, 10h Pr, 5h SEM |
|
| Number of credits : |
|
|
| Lecturer : | Bernard Rogister |
|
Language(s) of instruction :
|
| French language |
|
Course contents :
|
| Teacher : B. Rogister, Professor
The classical definition of General Physiology is the study of the properties which are common to all cells and living beings (Claude Bernard).
Among these common properties, there are the major metabolic pathway already studied during the General Biochemistry lectures. The ability for a cell to keep its internal environment constant in the presence of variations of the external environment is an other very important property common to all cells. This constance is favorable for good biochemical reactions. This property is called homeostasis and is also studied by General Physiology.
Homeostasis includes the possibility for a cell to detect a modification in its environment or an external information and to respond appropriately. However all cells or all cells in a living organism are not identical. They are able to provide particular function and thus, have specific and different internal environment given their function. In consequence, cells have to dialog with each other and the integration of all these informations at the cellular level is also the purpose of General Physiology.
Conceptually, the regulation of internal environment involves: 1) detection of a modification by various sensor systems of the cell or of the body, 2) the transmission of an information from the sensor to a central integrator and 3) an appropriate response of this integrative centre. This response could be either direct or performed by an effector after a new step of transmission which carry now the response information. Such an approach emphasizes the importance of physical borders between internal and external fluid in a cell or in a living organism. Thus it is at the cell membrane that most of the mechanisms involved in sensing (receptors) and in response (secretion, ion fluxes, ...) are present.
The general objectives of this lecture are:
1) To understand the need to maintain a constant internal environment in order to keep the good conditions for biochemical reactions. Moreover, the internal environment could be a little bit different in various cell compartments (lysosomes, nucleus, ...).
2) To understand how molecules move across a compartment or through a biological membrane.
3) To understand the impact on the osmotic pressure of the diffusion of molecules.
4) To understand the phenomenon of osmosis in cell in which the molecule concentration in cytoplasm is higher than in the external fluid. This situation requires to make the cell membrane impermeant to sodium.
5) To understand the consequences on the membrane potential of the inhomogenous distribution of various ionic species on both sides of a biological membrane.
6) To understand how living beings have used the existence of this membrane potential to signalize, particularly in the nervous system.
7) To apply all these concepts to the muscular contraction. |
|
Learning outcomes of the course :
|
| - To be able to explain how the cell structure is maintained meanwhile this cell assume a particular function (cell membrane permeability, cellular volume regulation, muscle contraction, transmission of nervous information ...).
- To be able to give a molecular explanation to the phenomenon characterizing the living organisms.
- To be able to give a global explanation about the complexity of the coordination system regulating the interactions between the various systems of the organism.
- To be able to describe the relationships between specific metabolic pathways and the environmental properties.
- To be able to use all these informations to start in good conditions the study of Human Physiology. |
|
Prerequisites and co-requisites/ Recommended optional programme components :
|
| Upstream : Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Biochemistry.
This course constitutes an introduction to Human Biochemistry, Human Physiology and Pathology. |
|
Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
|
| Lectures will be ex cathedra. Two sessions of laboratory works will be organized in all sections (actually, a session is held in all sections and during the 2011-2012 academic year, a second session will be organized experimentally only in Medicine section; this second session will be widespread during the next academic years). The first session is devoted to the recording of action potentials in various circumstances and the second session will be devoted the the study of a functional neuromuscular junction. At the end of each session, students have to submit a report which will be evaluated identically to the evaluation of the reports in General Biochemistry. |
|
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
|
| 1. General introduction, homeostasis.
1. Homeostasis of internal environment.
2. Physico-chemical basis of internal regulation.
2. Diffusion and cell membrane permeability.
3. Osmotic pressure and water displacements.
3. Ionic channels and excitable membranes.
4. Ionic channels.
5. Electrical consequences of ionic gradients.
6. Passive electrical properties of cell membranes. 7. Action potential onset and propagation.
8. Ionic channels diversity.
4. Solutes transports.9. Electrochemical potential energy
10. Passive transport of solutes
11. Active transport.
5. Message Transduction.
12. Ligand-receptor couple and second messengers. |
|
Recommended or required readings :
|
| Syllabus written in 2009 is available at the beginning of the lecture either written (Presses Universitaires) or electronically (files available in Intranet). All the files used for lectures (illustrations and resumes) will also be available after each lectures. The students will be refered to some internet references. Finally all lectures will be recorded and available through pod-cast on Intranet.
All the recent books dedicated to General Physiology or Cellular Physiology can be used. For example :
- Physiologie des Régulations par E. Schoffeniels et G. Moonen, Masson
- Cell Biology, T.D Pollard and W.C. Earnshaw, 2004, Saunders
- Cellular Physiology, M.P. Blaustein, J.P.Y. Kao and D.R. Matteson, 2004, Elsevier Mosby.
- Molecular Cell Biology, Lodish, Berk, Zipursky, Matsudeira, Baltimore and Darnell, 4th edition, Freeman.
- Cell Physiology Sourcebook, a molecular approach. Ed by Nicholas Sperelakis, 3rd edition, 2001, Academic Press. |
|
Assessment methods and criteria :
|
| The exam will consist of multiple choice questions. Specific questions will be dedicated to various aspects developped during the action potential laboratory work session during the academic year 2011-2012. Since the year 2012-1013, questions will also concerned the second laboratory work session. |
|
Contacts :
|
| Adress : Bernard Rogister, ProfessorGIGA-Neurosciences et GIGA-Développement
C.H.U. Bât. B36
avenue de l'Hôpital 1
4000 Liège 1
Belgique
Phone : +32 4 3665950Fax : 32 4 3665912
E-mail : Bernard.Rogister@ulg.ac.be
Sabine Wislet-Gendebien
Première Assistante
GIGA-Neurosciences
CHU Bât.B36
avenue de l'hôpital, 1
4000 Liège
Phone : +32 4 366 59 56
Fax : +32 4 366 59 12
e-mail : S.Wislet@ulg.ac.be
Larisia Bourdoux
Secrétaire
e-mail : Larisia.Bourdoux@ulg.ac.be |
|
|
| |
