Cell Signaling Course

[dvmcatdog]

Hello! I'm doing a masters degree and I am just curious how much you learn in vet school about receptors, transporters, and cell signaling.
Like do you go over G-protein coupled receptors, NF-κB, receptor tyrosine kinases, TGF-β, mTORC, apoptosis, and ion channels? Or like renal hemodynamics, sodium balance?

A lot of my courses revolve around signaling and I'm just curious if this is also learned in vet school or doesn't really matter.
Thanks!

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[Lupin21]

Hello! I'm doing a masters degree and I am just curious how much you learn in vet school about receptors, transporters, and cell signaling.
Like do you go over G-protein coupled receptors, NF-κB, receptor tyrosine kinases, TGF-β, mTORC, apoptosis, and ion channels? Or like renal hemodynamics, sodium balance?

A lot of my courses revolve around signaling and I'm just curious if this is also learned in vet school or doesn't really matter.
Thanks!

yes, biochem is covered again in vet school.

 

[supershorty]

There is biochem and some fairly rudimentary genetics in vet school, but some of the signaling pathways that you mentioned are not covered at all. GPCRs definitely are, ion channels are, physiology obviously is, and maybe RTKs to a weak extent, but many of the more cancer-related ones are not. And IMO, they don't need to be; most DVMs are never going to need that knowledge and it wouldn't be a good use of teaching time and resources to cover them.

Especially mTOR signaling because that's incredibly complicated even on the best days.

 

[JaynaAli]

I think most people probably forget how detailed curriculum was, especially when you move out of didactic foundation classes and move towards clinics. When I was a resident studying for my pathology boards I pulled out my pathology notes from first year and was quite frankly shocked that we had learned about most of the types of cell death (including not just apoptosis but necroptosis, autophagy, entosis, etc.). They weren’t covered in quite as much detail as I have to know as a specialist (obviously)...I definitely didn’t remember learning any of that, but it was right there in my notes. Same for lots of the receptors...they were in my physiology notes but I definitely blacked that out. Do you use those things on a day to day basis as a vet? No, not really, but they are definitely presented to lay the foundation so you understand. Apoquel (an anti-itch medication) blocks jak-stat receptors to block the itch cycle. Doxorubicin (a chemotherapy drug) works by blocking topoisomerase II, which should relax the DNA coils for transcription but when blocked, leads to DNA damage and cell death by apoptosis. Do people think about those receptors daily? Probably not, they just know doxorubicin is effective against most lymphoma and apoquel stops the itch.