Basic Immunology

Code:

MI231

Acronym:

IB

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Medicine

Instance: 2017/2018 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Departamento de Patologia
Course/CS Responsible:	Integrated Master in Medicine

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
MIMED	387	Mestrado Integrado em Medicina- Plano oficial 2013 (Reforma Curricular)	2	-	3	26	81

Teaching language

Suitable for English-speaking students

Objectives

To acquire the knowledge of basic mechanisms of the immune response, including the biological response to exogenous or endogenous agents in human pathology. 

Learning outcomes and competences

By the end of this Curricular Unit students will acquire the following competences: A ‐ To describe the cellular, molecular and func#onal organizacon of the immune system; B ‐ To demonstrate the role of the immune response in the biological response to damage; C ‐ To use, select, and report data from basic immunological techniques; D ‐ To search, select and evaluate information from scientific data bases, concluding and presenting the data; E ‐ To demonstrate initiative and team work capacities.

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

Basic knowledge of cell biology, genetics and of the morpho-functional organization of the lymphoid system.

 

Program

1. Immunity - concept and bio pathological relevance;


2. The Immune system - components and functional organization;


3. B lymphocytes - development and antibody synthesis;


4. T lymphocytes - ontogenesis, antigen recognition immunoregulatory role;


5. Antibodies – structure and function;


6. Antigens - immunogenicity and antigen processing;


7. Major histocompatibility complex - structure and participation on the afferent, central and immune responses;


8. Immunological tolerance - mechanisms of central and peripheral immune tolerance;


9. Regulation of the immune response - by the antigen, intrinsic, neuroendocrine and genetic;


10. Effector mechanisms and the amplification of the immune response - complement system and cytokines;


11. Primary immunodeficiencies - general characteristics and diagnostic evaluation.

Mandatory literature

Owen JA, Punt J, Stranford SA eds; Kuby Immunology, , 7th ed, 2013 WH Freeman and Co, , 2013. ISBN: ISBN-13: 978-14641-3784-6

Complementary Bibliography

Abul K.Abbas; Cellular and molecular Immunology, 2015

Comments from the literature

Lectures summaries, iconography and bibliographic materials for seminars and group works, will be supplied and available at the Immunology e-learning platform (Moodle).

Teaching methods and learning activities

Basic Immunology will have a total of 81 learning hours/year (3 ECTS), of which 26 hours (32%) will be teaching classes. These will include a weekly lecture (1 hour each), and seminars/group work with a total of 12h contact with the teaching team.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Exame	85,00
Participação presencial	10,00
Teste	5,00
Total:	100,00

Eligibility for exams

Terms of frequency: Presence; auto-evaluation quizzes by e-learning.

Calculation formula of final grade

The final exam is a written theoretical exam (85% of the final score), with 50 multiple-choice type questions (14 marks) and 2 open essay questions (6 marks). The time limit applied is 1 minute per test question and 30 minutes per written answer, with 10-minute tolerance period (total time = 120 minutes).

The classification obtained by approval in the final written exam (e.g. equal or more than 9.5 in a 20.0 score) corresponds to 85% of the final score. The remaining 15% (up to a score of 3.0) will result from distributed evaluation (teaching assistant information and evaluation of seminar presentations -up to 2 marks, and auto-evaluation quizzes-up to 1 mark).

Students with a final score of 10 (in 20) are directly approved, but they may submit to a complementary oral exam to improve their final score.

Classification improvement

Students with a final written theoretical exam score of 10 (in 20) are directly approved, but they may submit to a complementary oral exam to improve their final score. This is assessed by a jury of 2 teachers who will question the students for a maximum period of 30 minutes; the mark obtained in this exam is final and replaces the previous score.