Rutgers Classifieds>Rutgers Online Courses>Signaling actions of small molecules

Signaling actions of small molecules

About this Course

Our life is fine-controlled by various molecules in cells. Different types of molecules include macromolecules (e.g., protein, nucleic acid) and small molecules. In addition to classical views of central dogma, emerging roles of small molecules called metaboites have been recently proposed to significantly impact biological events. Metabolites are contiuously and dynamically produced by different metabolic pathways, thus playing key roles in energy metabolism as well as macromolecular biosynthesis/degradation. Accumulating evidence clearly suggests that certain types of metabolites exert signaling actions through interactions with macromolecules. Compared to other protein-protein and nucleic acid-protein interactions, metabolite-protein interactions appear significant in living cells, therby mediating specific actions in regulating target protein functions and activities. This 6 week-course will give you a solid introduction to the basic fundamentals of metabolite-mediated cell signaling. I will first define the concept of metabolites and introduces major types of molceular interactions. Throughout 6 weeks, we will study biochemical basis of metabolite actions in cell signaling. In particular, we will study interesting examples of how endogenous small molecules intreact with target proteins and control their functions. These major topics will be explained in the context of human health and disease such as cancer and inflammtion. Everyone appreciates that cell signaling is essential for sustaining life. How can you explain the action of noxious gases like nitric oxide in controlling blood pressure? What can be the fundamental mode of energy metabolites in modulating gene expression? Have you ever thought about ways of how our gut microbiota can influence our body? By studying signaling actions of metabolites, we can better understand the complex but wonderful nature of our cellular signaling system, further identifying novel ways to manage major human disease.

Created by: Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology(KAIST)


Related Online Courses

This course is the third course in the specialization about learning how to develop video games using the C++ programming language and the Unreal game engine on Windows or Mac. This course assumes... more
Postman - The Collaboration Platform for API Development. Postman\'s features simplify each step of building an API and streamline collaboration so you can create better APIs faster. This project... more
The Global Diplomacy course is a unique offering to the MOOC environment. Bringing together cutting edge research in the broad fields of Diplomatic and International Studies, award winning distance... more
Welcome to \"Requirements Writing\". As the title indicates, over the next four weeks, we will be looking at the important task of writing of text-based requirement statements. The course takes you... more
Fundamental concepts in probability, statistics and linear models are primary building blocks for data science work. Learners aspiring to become biostatisticians and data scientists will benefit... more

CONTINUE SEARCH

FOLLOW COLLEGE PARENT CENTRAL