Biol 1080 midterm

what is systems biology

systematic study of complex interactions in biological systems

what is systems biology also known as

bioinformatics

what is genomics

study of an organisms complete set of DNA

what is proteomics, what's an example

the study of the full protein set encoded by a genome

what is metabolomics, what's an example

study of metabolites within a given unit (ex: cell, tissue, organ, organism)

is system biology about integration or reduction

integration: putting together rather than taking apart

what is the reductionist approach, what's an example

control over experimental conditions with specific look or understanding (-isolated models like molecules, cells, organs or tissue)

what is the integrated approach, what's an example

less control over variables and viewed as less mechanistic-real world

stimulation of fat oxidation in muscle by leptin reductionist vs integrated approach

r: it is an isolated test done without other hormones, so lab data shows leptin oxidzing fat which may help with weight loss

i: leptin has other effects on tissues in the body, so overweight people have lots of leptin but bodies become resistant

observing what limits maximal oxygen uptake reductionist vs integrated approach

r: single leg extensions- studies muscle content limits of oxygen

i: cardiac output (running)- main limiter of oxygen

is the current type 2 diabetes and regulation of glucose a reductionist or integrated approach

reductionist because single blood sample taken at a time and per site, which doesn't explain why blood glucose is elevated

what are antioxidants

molecules that protect against damage from reactive oxygen species in your body

why should you not/ should you take antioxidants

yes: reactive oxygen species can induce oxidative damage promoting and disease, protects cell from damaging effects

no: certain amount of reactive oxygen species protect us, ROS is naturally involved in adaptation to exercise training, vitamin c and e supplements prevents some of this beneficial adaptation

why are reactive oxygen species harmful for humans

linked to aging and multiple diseases, can cause harm if levels are too high in body

what is the optimal characteristic of reductionism and some disease types

conditions where one or fewer components are responsible for overall behaviour of system-acute and simple diseases

what is the optimal characteristic of systems oriented perspective (integrated) and some disease types

conditions where interactions between components are responsible for overall behaviour of the system-chronic,complex diseases

T or F: each adult human cannot be considered as a unique biological system

F: They can be considered unique since emergent properties make us unique despite genetic similarity to other species

what is an emergent property

what a collection or complex system has, but individual members don't have

what % genetic homology do chimps and fruit flies have to humans

chimps: 98%, flies: 65%

What network does the adult human biological system have

control communication network (CCN)

what does the CCN do, what are its characteristics

CCODR (cc odor)

C-COORDINATES/CONTROLS function of all physiological systems and individual organs

C- processes information flow that is chemical based for CELL COMMUNICATION

O-always ON

D- DISTRIBUTED throughout the entire body (glands and cells)

R- high degree of REDUNDANCY (plan B's)

what do the central, peripheral, endocrine and support/defence system coordinate

central nervous: brain and spinal cord

peripheral nervous: somatic (voluntary) and autonomic (involuntary) nervous systems

endocrine: endocrine tissues, glands, hormones

s/d: support, movement, maintenance, repair, adaptation, defences

what are the 7 dimensions of health

ME POSES: mental, emotional, physical, occupational, social, environmental, spiritual

what are the 3 major factors that act as imputs to our health?

LEG: lifestyle, environment, genetics

what is the focal point of health in the adult human

the CCN

what are the compromised functions and structures of the CCN, what are examples of each

aging and disease processes

aging-endocrine, s/d: diabetes

s/d: cancer, autoimmune

central nervous: Depression, ADHD

disease-central: Alzheimers

peripheral: diminished touch sensitivity

s/d: Impaired wound healing capacity

what is P4 medicine, what 3 things does it combine, how is it informed (4 ways)

personalized, predictive, preventive, participatory

informed by each person's unique clinical, environmental, genomic, and genetic info

-CEGG

what is in silico, what's an example

simulations with math and computer models ex; bioinformatics

what is in vitro, what's an example

in glass (test tube) models ex; cell culture, growing skin

what is ex vivo

out of the living models ex; isolated tissues and organs, animal models

what are the 3 experimental models for humans medical and health research

computer simulations, animal models, human participants

what are animal models mainly used to study

genetics

what are c. elegans used to study

embryonic metabolisms: turning on and off genetics and pathways, using florescent tag to follow digestion of a nutrient, protein synthesis

what are characteristics of the use of c. elegans ( aka roundworms, nematodes)

easy to study, cheap, self-fertilizes, can be frozen and thawed, transparent (facilitates study of cell differentiation), 40% genetic homology to humans, short life cycle (3 days)

what are characteristics of the use of drospholia melanogaster (fruit fly)

life cycle and development very sensitive to environmental conditions, 65% genetic homology to humans

what are drospholia melanogasters used to study

effects of drugs and alcohol in neuropharmacology

what are characteristics of the use of rats

social and intelligent creatures, tend to take more severe approach than with humans, not very good model for human infant nutrition and metabolism

what are rats used to study

lifestyle effects on metabolism like diet, exercise and drugs

what are zucker rats used to study

obesity and diabetes as they lack leptin receptors; the anti-obesity hormone

what are characteristics of the use of mice

popular because easy to apply recombinant DNA technology

what are mice used to study

importance of a single protein, compensatory mechanisms (redundancy within the biological system), lifestyle effects on metabolism

how do the results on the study of metabolism for mice differ from rats

MIG- mitochondria, insulin, glucose (LESS)

takes longer to make mice insulin resistant on a high fat diet, less impairment of glucose uptake in mice so muscle metabolism differs, mitochondria adapt less robustly with exercise training

what is the ob/ob mouse, what are its characteristics

genetically modified mouse that fails to secrete functional leptin -hyperphagic (overeats), obese, diabetic, infertile

why is the ob/ob mouse not a good model to study role of leptin in humans

b/c we don't completely lack leptin, most obese humans have excess leptin and become resistant to action of leptin so they have more trouble regulating appetite

what are characteristics of the use of swine

best non-primate model for human infant development and metabolism

what are swine used to study

organ transplants

what are characteristics of the use of primates

closest model to represent humans, ethical concerns, costly

what are primates used to study

research in human pathologies (AIDS), transplants, drug abuse, toxicology

what are the two basic experimental designs of human medical healthcare research

non-clinical and clinical studies

what are the characteristics of non-clinical studies

N/A: non-intervention, associations

non-intervention, no medical treatment given, can't predict or prove cause/effect of medical substance, only predicts associations, gives good incite on what clinical studies should be done

examples of non-clinical studies

epidemiological studies most common

-analyze (diets) of populations and relate it to health outcome

-looking at patterns then relate it to a risk

what are characteristics of clinical studies

MICE: medical treatment, intervention, cause, effect

control substance/placebo given, predicts cause/effect

what type of trial is best for medical research in clinical studies

double blind, placebo controlled

-two groups: intervention and placebo group, compare results within the two

what is double blind

researcher and participants blinded to intervention

what are the 5 steps to test a new drug's safety for human clinical trials, what occurs in each

PPPPA

1. preclinical: animal studies before testing on humans

2. phase I: test drug safety on humans with a small group of people

3. phase 2: test if drug works/effectiveness with larger group of people (100s), check safety and dosage

4. phase 3: test how drug compares with other treatments with even larger group (1000s)

5. after approval: ongoing assessment of long-term use, benefits and risks

what is evidence based medicine, what are its outcomes

applying scientific evidence to clinical decisions

outcomes: patient values + clinical data + research evidence = optimal decision

what are cochrane reviews

collection of database of systemic reviews and meta-analyses which summarize and interpret results of research

how does the cochrane review pyramid scale work bottom to top

in silico research, in vitro research, animal model research, case-control studies, cohort studies, randomized controlled trials, critically appraised papers, critically appraised topics, systematic reviews

what are 4 new dimensions in medical and healthcare practice

E-ICE: evolutionary, integrative, collective, enhancement

what is evolutionary medicine, what does it do

applying modern evolutionary theory to understanding health and disease

-replaces view of bodies as machines with biological views of bodies shaped by the evolutionary process

what is integrative medicine, what does it do, what are some examples

treating the whole person and not just disease symptoms with informed evidence

-emphasizes therapeutic relationship w practitioner and patient ex; acupuncture, chiropractor, massage therapist

what is collective medicine, what does it say

seeks to promote, improve and defend health of all species by enhancing cooperation and collaboration between physicians, vets and other scientific health professionals

-speaks of interconnectedness between human, animal and environmental health

what is enhancement medicine, what are some examples

medical treatments that are not needed to maintain health

ex; botox, viagra, liposuction, steroids, nootropics (brain enhancers) like omega 3 fatty acids

what are the biological systems considered from the dimension of time, what do they measure

T-HER: trajectory, homeostasis, energy/info flow, rhythms

trajectory: growth, development and aging (years/decades)

homeostasis: maintenance of steady state (seconds, minutes, hours)

energy/information flow: action potentials, enzymatic reactions (milliseconds, microseconds)

rhythms: maintenance/repair (days, weeks, months)

what is the difference between lifespan and healthspan, what is the average age for both in canada

lifespan: how long do we have to live (81 years)

healthspan: how long is will the quality of life be healthy and independent (72 years)

what are biomarkers, what do they do, what approach is it

indicators of biological state of an organism that track the aging/disease process objectively

-reductionist approach

what leads to shortening of height

fractures, degeneration/compression in spinal discs which leads to curvature, loss of bone density in weight bearing bones (hips)

what is kyphosis

curving of spine due to osteoporosis

what is a pathology

The study of disease or any condition that affects the length or quality of life

what is a signal that a pathology exists for an anatomical measurement

if individual diverges from confidence interval (variability) within population on graph

what is sarcopenia, how does it differ between males and females

age related loss of muscle mass: up to 1% per loss per year after age of 40

males: decrease in testosterone and inactivity

females: inactivity and estrogen

how can you maintain muscle mass

resistance training, consuming more protein

what are the requirements of a biomarker

A-RCMP: accurate, reflect normal function/disease, monitor routinely, predict future risk/ have predictable range

reflect normal function, reflect normal disease processes, predict risk of future development of disease, have predictable range across category of individuals, routinely monitored over time, accurate and precisely measured methods, have normal ranges, can change during lifespan, outside reference range means risk of development of disease

how can there be a systems biology (integrated) approach in biomarkers, what can it do

by looking at a group of different biomarkers together within the system

-provides better info about intervention that can lower disease risk

what is chronobiology

study of timescales and cycles in biology, natural physiological rhythms

what are the 3 biological rhythms, what are some examples

ICU: infradian, circadian, ultradian

1. ultradian: less than 24 hrs ex; appetite, cortisol (pulsatile)

2. circadian: 24 hours ex; peak at 8 am (after awakening), sleep initiation

3. infradian: more than 24 hours ex; menstrual cycle

what is diurnal variation/circadian rhythm controlled by

peripheral clocks governed by the suprachiasmatic nucleus

what is the suprachiasmatic nucleus, what does it do

biological master/central clock that keeps time based on light signals in retina

what do subsidiary/peripheral clocks do

coordinate metabolism with the rest of the body and is a slave to the central clock

what do circadian rhythms control

gene expression, regulation of enzyme activities, neural function, hormone secretion

what do circadian rhythms coordinate

sleep, nutrient supply, and activity patterns with metabolic patterns required at different stages of the day

what does the disruption of the circadian rhythm lead to

elevated inflammatory cytokines, gastrointestinal problems, obesity, metabolic syndrome

what is the evolutionary perspective of circadian rhythms

cells evolved to heal wounds more effectively at the biological time when likely to occur (body is more primed during the day)

what controls the molecular clock

light and dark cycles, chemical signals like melatonin, blue light inhibits release of melatonin

what are the implications of the disruption of the circadian rhythm

non-clinical studies show association that:

-shift works experience more heart attacks, obesity, heart problems, cancer, alzheimers

-night owls more likely to suffer strokes or mental stress

why is the risk of a heart attack greatest mid morning

Klf15 protein which affects potassium flux in the heart

-caffeine, stress, high fat fast food

what type of biological rhythm is change in height

diurnal variation/ circadian rhythm since it's different during day vs night

why does height change over a day

due to fluid levels in joints and shape of those joints between bones in the intervertebral disks of spinal column

why are you taller in the morning than at night

at the end of a long day of weight bearing on vertebral column, disks are narrower and during sleep, the disks rehydrate and reform to og shape

what are limitations of using height as a biomarker for osteoporosis

varies during the day, needs to be measured in individuals over time, low sensitivity, doesn't directly predict disease state

what is the best way to determine bone mineral density

DEXA: dual energy x-ray absorptiometry

how does DEXA work

-denser the image, the more calcium in bone

-performed on lower spine or hip area most

-estimating amount of x-ray absorbing dense material packed in extra cellular space of bone

what is the function of the bone

stores calcium, acts as buffer for plasma calcium levels

what is calcitonin, what does it do for plasma, bone, intestine and kidney

-prevents increase in plasma calcium

-promotes calcium storage in bone

-blocks calcium absorption in intestine

-promotes calcium excretion in kidney

what is PTH (parathyroid hormone), what does it do for plasma, intestine and kidney

-moves calcium out of bone into blood

-promotes absorption of calcium in intestine

-promotes retention of calcium in kidney

where are the main sites of fracture for an osteoporotic bone

neck of femur and intraverterbral disks

what's the difference between the trabecular bone and the cortical bone

trabecular: more porus, where nutrient exchange occurs, at the top

cortical bone: denser, solid support/ strength

what T-score indicates osteoporosis

-2.5 or greater