1. komponenta

Lecture type	Total
Lectures	15
Laboratory exercises	8

* Load is given in academic hour (1 academic hour = 45 minutes)

Receptors are protein molecules with the specific position on the membrane of the cell or in their cytoplasm to which compounds of the endogenous origin, but also many drugs or xenobiotics, can be bound. Ability to create compound-receptor complex is dependent upon receptor specific binding capacity. Formation of that complex will result with the genomic or non-genomic cell response. Receptors located in the cytoplasm are responsible for the formation of a complex with steroid hormones which then translocate to the nucleus and bind to the specific gene site causing a certain response. The receptors on the membrane of the cells are the binding place for the most of small signaling molecules, such as hormones or neurostimulators, whose binding to receptor results with the non-genomic response. The functioning of the organism as a whole depends strongly about a proper function of the receptors in each cell, therefore, the basic knowledge in the field of interactions of molecules and their specific receptors (knowledge about specific receptors, monitoring changes that occur during the creation of the complex molecule-receptor and the cell response which consequently occurs) are also a key knowledge for designing new drugs. The current methods used to track the receptors with changed properties allow their recognition at an early stage of some disorders in the organism, which significantly improves the diagnosis and treatment of many diseases.

On successful completion of this module, the students will be able to:
- define the main signaling molecules and pathways of signal transduction in cells
- describe the role of signaling pathways in a variety of physiological processes
- connect disorder in the signal path with the emergence of specific diseases
- estimate the importance of the interaction of molecules and receptors for the development of therapeutic drugs
- independently search for the available literature, understand and apply the knowledge about the interaction of molecules and receptors in research and development of "smart" drugs