Basic Concepts of Cell Biology

Information

This course is mandatory for the master-na-master medsiche stralingsfysica. It is given in the first semester by three professors:

Prof. Veerle Baekelandt

Prof. Veerle Baekelandt (veerle.baekelandt@kuleuven.be) will talk about the general structures inside the cell, eukaryotes, and prokaryotes, bacteria, and viruses. She will also talk about cell differentiation and communication, the cell cycle, and signaling in nerve cells.

Prof. Joris Winderickx

Prof. Joris Winderickx (joris.winderickx@kuleuven.be) will talk about DNA, RNA, regulation of gene transcription, proteins, protein sorting, vesicular transport, cell membrane transport and signaling at the cell surface.

Prof. Hans Steenackers

Prof. Hans Steenackers (hans.steenackers@kuleuven.be) changes his topic from year to year. In 2023-2024 he talked about cell energetics. You get the questions of his part beforehand so you can prepare yourself.

Good books

Books on which the professors bases their courses are:

1. Molecular Cell Biology - H. Lodisch et al.
2. Introduction to Genetic Analysis - A. Griffiths

Exam questions

2023-2024

26 January 2023

Prof. Veerle Baekelandt

Explain briefly following terms:

1. Capsid
2. Voltage gated K channel

Name in the following figures what you can see and how the figure is made.

1. Fout bij het aanmaken van de miniatuurafbeelding: Bestand is zoek
2. Fout bij het aanmaken van de miniatuurafbeelding: Bestand is zoek
3. Fout bij het aanmaken van de miniatuurafbeelding: Bestand is zoek

Prof. Joris Winderickx

1. Explain GPCR. What is the structure of GPCR? How can GPCR go to the correct location? Explain in your answer the cargo selection, vesicle formation, and membrane fusion. Draw a schematic process of the typical receptor workings of GPCR.

Prof. Hans Steenackers

1. Rubisco, which may be the most abundant protein on earth, plays a key role in the synthesis of carbohydrates in organisms that use photosynthesis. What is rubisco, where is it located, and what function does it serve?
2. The Q cycle plays a major role in the electron transport chain of mitochondria, chloroplasts, and bacteria. What is the function of the Q cycle, and how does it carry out this function? What electron transport components participate in the Q cycle in mitochondria, in purple bacteria, and in chloroplasts?