General information
| Course type | AMUPIE |
| Module title | Principles Of Medical Virology |
| Language | English |
| Module lecturer | prof. UAM dr hab. Julia Łucja Durzyńska, prof. UAM dr hab. Robert Nawrot, dr hab. Justyna Broniarczyk |
| Lecturer's email | juliadur@amu.edu.pl |
| Lecturer position | profesor uczelni (associate professor) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Biology |
| Semester | 2024/2025 (summer) |
| Duration | 30 |
| ECTS | 4 |
| USOS code | 01-MEDVIR-PIE |
Timetable
Lectures - March/April 2025
Lab classes - May/June 2025
Module aim (aims)
- To familiarize the students with the properties of virus particles and the structure and complexity of virus genomes.
- To familiarize with viral pathogenesis, virus-related diseases, and patterns of infection
- To explain virus transformation and oncogenesis.
- To familiarize with the pathology of prion diseases.
- To familiarize with prevention and therapy of virus infection.
- To discuss the future viral therapies, benefits, hopes, and threats in biotechnology and medicine.
- To familiarize students with safety rules in the laboratory of virology.
Pre-requisites in terms of knowledge, skills and social competences (where relevant)
Students should be familiar with the structure and biochemistry of eukaryotic (human) cells.
Syllabus
Lectures:
Week 1: The properties of virus particles (capsid symmetry and virus architecture, virus receptors, recognition, and binding).
Week 2: The structure and complexity of virus genomes (replication strategies, expression processing of viral or cellular pre-mRNA, RNA interference, epigenetics, the diversity of viral translation strategies, packing of the viral genome, virion maturation, release, and spread of virion).
Week 3: Virus-related diseases. Viral pathogenesis (infection of populations, viral virulence, cellular defenses, viruses, and apoptosis).
Week 4: Patterns of infection (acute infections, persistent infections, latent infections, abortive infections, transforming infections).
Week 5: Transformation and oncogenesis.
Week 6: Prevention and therapy of virus infection (vaccines and antiviral agents)
Week 7: Viruses and the future (new and emergent viruses, zoonoses, bioterrorism, virotherapy, viruses for gene delivery, viruses and nanotechnology, viruses and biosphere).
Laboratories:
Week 1: Identification of HPV viruses DNA using PCR method.
Week 2: Detection of Epstein-Barr virus using the ELISA assay. Biosafety levels in virology labs.
Week 3: Pseudovirus (PsV) technology as a tool to monitor HPV infection in different cell lines.
Reading list
- Fields BN et al.: Fundamental Virology, Lippincott-Raven, Philadelphia-Nwe York, 19952. Dimmock NJ, Primrose SB.: Introduction to Modern Virology, Blackwell Science, Oxford, 19983. Cann AJ: Principles of Molecular Virology, Elsevier, Amsterdam-Boston-London, 20124. Flint SJ et al.: Principles of Virology, ASM Press, Washington, 2009