Marine Biomedicine - From Venom to Cure

Code:

MA330

Acronym:

BMVC

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Applied Biology

Instance: 2021/2022 - 4T (of 09-05-2022 to 24-06-2022)

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Imuno-Physiology and Pharmacology
Course/CS Responsible:	Aquatic Sciences

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
LCMA	8	Official Study Plan	3	-	5	49	135

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

The incidence and prevalence of human diseases is changing. These changes are predominantly related to lifestyle and environmental alterations. The gradual increase in the world's population and the emergence of new human diseases increases the need for novel and better medicines to combat them. Although seventy-five percent of the Earth's surface is covered by water, research on new medicines and knowledge of the pharmacology of marine organisms (plants and / or animals) is limited. The marine environment is an exceptional reservoir of biologically active natural products (e.g. poisons, metabolites), many of which exhibit structural characteristics not found in terrestrial natural products. These molecules represent a diversified and unavoidable resource of inspiration for the research of new drugs and biomaterials of biomedical interest. Scientific research is intense in the search for products with antibacterial, immunomodulatory, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, antimicrobial, neuroprotective, analgesic and antimalarial properties of marine origin. Research on natural products of marine origin has evolved from the analytical chemistry required to isolate new interest molecules to a collaborative effort among chemists, biologists and pharmacologists to identify their mechanisms of action on specific cell receptors or enzymes and their potential biomedical interest. This optional course aims at alerting undergraduate students in Aquatic Sciences about the opportunities that marine species offer for biomedical research and research / design of innovative medicines, motivating them to know the process of molecular isolation, functional evaluation, improvement and formulation, preclinical investigation and clinical trial of molecules of biomedical interest.

Learning outcomes and competences

The UC will address issues related to the use of marine animals and their poisons in biomedical research and the discovery of medicines from marine organisms, with all issues associated with the isolation / purification of possible candidate molecules, the research of their mechanisms of action, improvement and therapeutic formulation, preclinical research until arrival at clinical trials.

Working method

Presencial

Program

Marine animals - Biomedicine research models; Poisons of marine origin and experimental toxinology.

Marine Biotechnology - Characterization, metabolomics and diversity of natural compounds of marine origin with interest in Biomedicine; biosynthesis of compounds of marine origin with interest in drug discovery and development.

Discovery of Leading Compounds - Major species related to the discovery of pharmaceuticals of marine origin and their natural habitats (e.g. bacteria, microalgae, algae and aquatic plants, sponges, cnidaria and bryozoans, molluscs, ascidians; echinoderms); Use of molecular databases in the search for compounds of marine origin and molecular targeting strategies (e.g. antimicrobials, anti-parasitic, neuromodulators, chemotherapeutic agents); Medicinal chemistry and optimization of compounds for pharmacological use.

Therapeutic use of marine products - Notions of preclinical research and clinical trial; How can a poison be used as a medicine (e.g. conotoxins)? Development and marketing of synthetic analogues of marine products; New compounds under investigation: Toxicity tests; Future of marine biodiversity in biomedicine.

Mandatory literature

Bill J. Baker; Marine Biomedicine: From Beach to Bedside (1st Edition, 2015), CRC Press, 2015. ISBN: 9781466582125

Complementary Bibliography

Andrew G Mtewa, Tamirat Bekele, Annu Amanjot; From Toxins to Drugs: Chemistry and Pharmacology of Animal Venom and other Secretions., On J Complement & Alt Med, 2019. ISBN: 10.33552/OJCAM.2019.01.000505
de Souza JM, Goncalves BDC, Gomez MV, Vieira LB and Ribeiro FM; Animal Toxins as Therapeutic Tools to Treat Neurodegenerative Diseases, Front. Pharmacol., 2018. ISBN: 10.3389/fphar.2018.00145
Malve H; Exploring the ocean for new drug developments: Marine pharmacology, J Pharm Bioallied Sci., 2016. ISBN: 10.4103/0975-7406.171700
Rajeev Kumar Jha & Xu Zi-rong; Biomedical Compounds from Marine organisms, Mar. Drugs, 2004

Teaching methods and learning activities

In addition to lectures designed to discuss Marine Biomedicine conceptual topics with experts and to present students' self-learning outcomes, the UC is grounded in a strong practical component ensured by hands-on laboratory rotations using various available techniques at the ICBAS Pharmacology and Neurobiology Laboratory using biomedicine-relevant marine molecules and / or animal models (eg molecular drug targets for use in the nervous and cardiovascular system, as analgesics, as anti-inflammatory, as anti-infectious and antiparasitic agents, cytostatic agents), but also as very specific "tools" in biomedical research (e.g. toxins, metabolic pathway modulators, fluorescent dyes).

The teaching methodologies and resources used in this course contribute to the general competencies established as follows:

Theoretical and Practical Lessons (discussion of the conceptual themes of Marine Biomedicine with specialists and presentation of students' self-learning results) and Practical Lessons: Practical work of experimental nature in the Pharmacology Laboratory and the Electrophysiology and Signaling Laboratory Mobile (ICBAS) with report presentation and discussion of experimental results.

Theoretical-practical classes allow students to provide essential concepts within the discipline. The practical classes have a strong experimental nature being carried out in a laboratory environment in order to foster the acquisition of laboratory practices in this scientific area, stimulate the ability of analysis and interpretation of experimental results promoting contact between students and researchers.

Numerus clausus: 12-15 students (limited number due to laboratory rotations)

4th quarter of the course.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation with final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Participação presencial	40,00
Teste	30,00
Trabalho laboratorial	30,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Apresentação/discussão de um trabalho científico	36,00
Estudo autónomo	50,00
Frequência das aulas	14,00
Trabalho laboratorial	35,00
Total:	135,00

Eligibility for exams

Distributed evaluation:

• Practical (6 points): Compulsory attendance (3/4 of attendances). Continuous evaluation by the tutor.
• Theorical and Pratical (8 point): Seminars presentation and discussion.

Theory (6 points): Final examination (20 multiple choice quiz + 5 short answers) and/or oral examination (students must have >3.0/14.0 to succeed; compulsory between 2.0-2.9/6.0 points in the final examination).

Calculation formula of final grade

Distributed evaluation:

• Practical (6 points): Compulsory attendance (3/4 of attendances). Continuous evaluation by the tutor.
• Theorical and Pratical (8 point): Seminars presentation and discussion.

Theory (6 points): Final examination (20 multiple choice quiz + 5 short answers) and/or oral examination (students must have >3.0/14.0 to succeed; compulsory between 2.0-2.9/6.0 points in the final examination).

NOTE: Taking the final exams (written test and/or oral exam) at any time requires mandatory pre-registration 72 hours before taking the exams.

Examinations or Special Assignments

Oral  examination.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

Oral examination.

Classification improvement

Final examination and/or Oral examination.

Observations

Practical-Evaluation approval is valid for two consecutive academic years.