Metabolism and Energetics

Code: QUI00358L

6 ECTS

Duration: 15 weeks/156 hours

Scientific Area: Biochemistry

Teaching languages: Portuguese, English, Spanish

Languages of tutoring support: Portuguese, English, Spanish

Regime de Frequência: Presencial

Sustainable Development Goals

Educação de qualidade - Assegurar a educação inclusiva, e equitativa e de qualidade, e promover oportunidades de aprendizagem ao longo da vida para todos.

Trabalho digno e crescimento económico - Promover o crescimento económico sustentado, inclusivo e sustentável, emprego pleno e produtivo, e trabalho decente para todos.

Reduzir as desigualdades - Reduzir as desigualdades dentro dos países e entre eles.

Learning Goals

To provide knowledge and understanding on the concepts, principles, methodologies and experimental protocols that characterize primary and secondary metabolism, with higher emphasis on the bioenergetic aspects of oxidative phosphorilation and metabolism of the main nutritional components of living beings, regulation and metabolic integration of these processes with application in biomedicine and biotechnology.
Skills: Scientific: Knowledge management; Sourcing, selecting, interpreting data; Data evaluation, problem solving; technical: Laboratory techniques; Experimental design; Accuracy; Data analysis; IT skills; self-organization: Planning and Time management; Inter-personal: Teamwork; Decision taking; Learning from others; Sharing; Receiving critique. Communication: Lab report; Oral; Essay; Short exam-type essay answers; Data presentation (oral or written reports). Transferable: course-based and other employment and exercising of personal responsibility.

Theoretical sessions: 1. Concepts and experimentation in the study of metabolism. 2. Bioenergetics. 3. Oxidative phosphorilation. 4. Metabolism of the main nutrients. Reaction mechanisms and energetic balancing. 5. Metabolic integration. 6. Metabolic regulation. 7. Hormonal regulation of the metabolism. 8. Evolution of the metabolic pathways. 9. Introduction to nutrition. Diet, energy balance its implications in metabolism.10. Fasting and well fed states. Metabolic unbalance and disease: Obesity, diabetes and exercise.
Practical sessions: Redox reactions; determination of the redox state of a molecule. Nernst equation. Bioenergetics: thermodynamic concepts applicable to metabolism. Energy balance: determination of Gibbs free energy and efficiency of metabolic pathways.
Lab. sessions: ATP production in glicolysis and its regulation. Determination of mitochondria potential. Determination of specific activity of hexokinase and LDH in muscle, kidney, liver and cerebral tissues.

Teaching Methods

Theoretical classes will be supported by audiovisual techniques and recommended bibliography. In practical classes, students will be distributed in smaller work teams in order to promote student motivation and develop spirit critic, interpretation ability and accuracy. Practical lectures will be articulated with theoretical concepts and supported by some practical examples, discussing subjects and problems solving related with metabolism and metabolic pathways and planned a research work correlated with the contents of this curricular unit.
Evaluation:
Theoretical component: written two MQC tests or exam (70%).
Practical component: Reports on the practical experiments done during the duration of the course (20%) and oral presentation or essay (1500 words; 10%).
Total mark between 0-20 points.