Molecular Toxicology
Code
10658
Academic unit
Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia
Department
Departamento de Ciências da Vida
Credits
6.0
Teacher in charge
Pedro Miguel Ribeiro Viana Baptista
Weekly hours
4
Total hours
78
Teaching language
Português
Objectives
The students should learn the basic concepts of toxicology aiming futures specialization in the different fields of Toxicology. They should obtain skills in toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics of xenobiotics. Students should also learn the different steps of the process of risk assessment of toxics that contact human populations. They should learn the fundamental principles of Genetic Toxicology, namely short-term assays using bacteria and animal cells, and their advantages and disadvantages. The prediction of the carcinogenic power of substances that gave positive results in short-term assays should also be studied. The learned concepts will enable the students to further work in applied fields of toxicology.
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge on cell and molecualr biology, physiology and biochemistry.
preferable with knowledge of molecular genetics and mechanisms of cancer
Subject matter
Human exposure to toxic compounds. Mechanisms of toxicity. The concept of dose and the dose-response relation. Acute and chronic toxicity. Parameters for toxicological evaluation. Toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics. Biotransformation of xenobiotics. In vitro and in vivo toxicity testing. Molecular mechanisms of toxicity. Target organ toxicity. The process of carcinogenicity. Genotoxicity versus carcinogenicity. DNA repair and carcinogenicity. Cell and molecular mechanisms involved in the process of carcinogenicity. Oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes. Short-term assays in Genetic Toxicology: assays using prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. Analysis of genetic polymorphisms in human populations exposed to carcinogens. Molecular analysis of mutations. Risk assessment.
Bibliography
Casarett and Doull´s Toxicology, The Basic Science of Poisons, Sixt Edition. Int. Ed, McGraw-Hill, NY 2001.
Toxicology, Principles & Applications, Niesink, de Vries, Hollinger, eds, CRC Press, Boca Raton, 1996.
Principles and Methods of Toxicology, A Wallace Hayes eds, Fourth edition, Taylor & Francis, 2001.
Principles of Biochemical Toxicology, John Timbrell, Third Ed, Taylor & Francis, 2000.
Teaching method
Lectures
Group work in autonomy for presentation and discussion