Head of Department: Professor Denis Drainas

The main educational objective is the understanding of the biochemical processes involved in transcription, post-translational RNA processing and translation. Furthermore, the aim of the course is to understand the structure and function of the ribosome, the regulatory role of non-coding RNAs and the use of RNA-bases tools for gene therapy and genome editing like ribozymes and CRSIPR.

Basic immunology concepts, immune system cells, immunoglobulin nomenclature and macromolecular structure, monoclonal antibodies, immunochemical determinations. Clinical Immunology: T cell pathogenesis, B cell pathogenesis, autoimmune diseases, cancer immunization, transplantation-hypersensitivity reactions.

Medical Biochemistry

Course Coordinators: C. Stathopoulos, D. Kalpaxis

Educational goals

General educational objective of the course “Medical Biochemistry – Immunology” is the understanding of the study of disorders of the human organism at the molecular and cellular level as well as in the execution and interpretation of biochemical and immunological analyzes.

Course Content

Introduction to Medical Biochemistry: Personnel security in a clinical chemistry or hematology laboratory and design of laboratory space. Reliability of analytical methods, errors in the clinical and chemical analysis, quality of materials and instruments, processing of analyzes, physiological values, selection and development of an analytical method, quality control programs.

Analysis methods and enzymes: Enzymes as diagnostic markers and as chemical reagents, plasma enzymes, methods of monitoring a reaction, classification of methods.

Immunochemistry: Basic concepts of immunology, basic definitions of Immunochemistry, nomenclature and macromolecular structure of immunoglobulins, structure and biological role of immunoglobulins, monoclonal antibodies, immunochemical determinations.

Cellular Immunology: T cell pathogenesis, B cell pathogenesis, autoimmune diseases, cancer immunization, transplantation-hypersensitivity reactions.

Accent-base balance and clinical applications: Homologation of water and electrolytes, body buffers, disorders and regulation.

Metabolism disorders: Carbohydrate metabolism disorders, lipid metabolism disorders and cardiac function biochemistry, biochemical factors affecting atherosclerosis, amino acid and protein metabolism disorders, nucleotide metabolism disorders, porphyrins metabolism disorders.

Laboratory tests: Control of renal function, control of liver function, control of gastrointestinal and pancreatic function.

Biochemical and microbial factors affecting atherosclerosis.

Laboratory training of postgraduate students

In the context of the training of postgraduate students in the direction of Medical Biochemistry-Immunology, students will be trained in the following determinations and tests:

• ΕLISA
• FACS
• IEF
• DNA Microarrays
• HPLC
• qRT-PCR

Production and analysis of quality control maps

Measuring viral load of AIDS patients and detecting virus mutations

Practical training in Clinical Biochemistry (complementary training at Patras University Hospital in specialized methods of analysis, such as flame photometry, use of automated analyzers, conductivity, etc.)