Syllabus
Molecular Modelling _ An introductory Course + Homework
Siegfried Schwarz, M.D., Professor
Division of Experimental Pathophysiology & Immunology, Biocenter, Innsbruck Medical University, CCB, Innrain 80- 82, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria, siegfried.schwarz@i-med.ac.at
This lecture intends to give introductory information to a practical course in which attendees are instructed how to use a particular molecular modelling software (RasMol) in order to display 3D structures (as deposited in the PDB) of proteins, alone or in interaction with small or large ligands such as drugs or DNA or other proteins. This course is based on a published textbook of the author: MOLECULES OF LIFE &
MUTATIONS (Karger, Basel 2002), in which structures of 150 „most important“ molecules are displayed.
This lectures is followed by a hands-on course in a PC room where attendees will receive a detailed step-bystep description for performinig this part as well as as „homework“. A further hometask will be to elaborate a certain, individually assigned molecule and disease and to prepare a short lecture and an outline in WORD and POWER POINT, respectively.
One of the powers of molecular modelling resides in its informative value in displaying molecules, in total or portions thereof, in different formats such as wireframe, protein backbone, atoms, overall surface etc. It is possible to turn the molecule in all directions and to see in real time the various aspects of it. Thereby, various structural characteristics can be recognized, domains of certain structure or charge or hydrophobicity or shape or other properties, which can serve e.g. as ligand-binding domain, as DNA-binding domain or as drug-metabolizing domain or as a domain for any other biological purpose. Most importantly, points of mutation, as documented in the OMIM and other data bases, can be „mapped“ into such a model in order to understand which function of the protein would thus be altered and whether this change in structure would be recessive or dominant. Attendees will learn this using Arginine Vasopressine precursor mutations as an informative excample.
Annotation
Designed by Professor Siegfried Schwarz, Medical University Innsbruck/Austria and Professor Jiri Hatina, Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen Sept. 28, 2105: -Introductory lectures, 4 hrs -Practical course in the PC room, demonstration of the software „RasMol“, to be used for molecular modelling, 1-2 hrs afternoon -Assignement of homework to students, i.e. a molecule – a disease, a PDB# and an OMIM # Sept. 29, 2105: -Lectures in various topics of molecular medicine, molecular endocrinology (4-6 hrs) Sept. 30, 2105: -Presentation of students’ homework (2-3 hrs) -MC Quiz (?) -Certificate of participatiohn -Farewell words + Photo of the group