1. komponenta

Lecture type	Total
Lectures	30

* Load is given in academic hour (1 academic hour = 45 minutes)

COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Students are introduced to the molecular mechanisms of aging in different organisms; adoption of basic biological concepts for mathematical modelling.

COURSE CONTENT:
1. Introduction: What is aging - basic concepts; Theories of aging (cellular aging, aging at the organism level, aging at the population level).
2. Cell aging: Metabolic, physiological and morphological changes of cells; the stochastic nature of cellular aging.
3. Molecular mechanisms of cell aging control: Telomere structure, their role in the cell, replication, their shortening dynamics; Shelterin, their conformations, their interactions with proteins; Subtelomeres, telomerase, telomeric systems in various organisms; Replication and abrupt shortening of telomeres; ALT - alternative lenghtening of telomeres
4. Experimental evidence for mechanisms of aging: Telomerase expression in normal somatic cells; Accelerated aging syndromes in humans; Telomerase expression at the organism level; Elimination of old cells from the body; Re-expression of telomerase in an old organism
5. Methods and analyzes of telomere measurements at the level of individuals and population
6. Statistical monitoring of population movements from the aspect of biometric parameters of aging
7. Theory of free radicals: What are free radicals in the cell, how they are formed and how they affect cell senescence
8. Imortalization: Mechanisms of transition from normal cell to tumour; interdependence of aging and carcinogenesis

1. Handbook of the Biology of Aging. Third edition, Editors: Schneider, E. L. and Rowe, J. W., Academic Press, Inc. San Diego, California, 1990.
2. Nature, vol. 408, No. 9 (2000), 233-269. Skup preglednih članaka..
3. Oncogene, vol. 21, No. 4 (2002), 493-697. Skup preglednih članaka..
4. Science, vol. 273, No. 5271 (1996), 1-148. Skup preglednih članaka..
5. Cellular and molecular aging. in Comprehensive Geriatric Oncology, second edition, Kim, S., Jiang, J. C., Kirchman, P. A., Rubelj, I., Helm, E. G. and Jazwinski, S. M., Harwood Academic Publishers, Amsterdam, 1998.
6. mouse models to study the role of telomeres in cancer, aging and dna repair [Review]. European Journal of Cancer. 38(17): 2222-2228, 2002 Nov., Blasco M. A..

Enrollment :
Passed : Biology 2

Mandatory course - Regular study - Biomedical Mathematics