IMPERIAL COLLEGE LONDON
B.Sc. Examination 2019
This paper is also taken for the relevant examination for the Associateship of the Royal College
of Science
INTEGRATIVE CELL BIOLOGY
Thursday 20 June 2019 14.00 - 17.00
FOR SECOND YEAR STUDENTS IN BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
Answer any FOUR questions. Answer each question in a SEPARATE book. Parts of a
question carry equal weighting unless otherwise specified.
1. Discuss the roles of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate in signal transduction
downstream of G protein-coupled receptors (50%) and downstream of receptor
tyrosine kinases (50%).
2. Several common forms of dwarfism are caused by mutations in fibroblast growth
factor receptor 3 (FGFR3). One such mutation is S371C, in which serine 371 is
replaced by cysteine. Residue 371 is located in the extracellular region of FGFR3,
close to the transmembrane region. You are studying the effect of the S371C
mutation on FGFR3 activation and on downstream signalling. You measure FGFR3
phosphorylation (Figure 1A) and expression of the early response gene c-fos (Figure
1B). Given the data below, propose a mechanism for how the S371C mutation might
affect c-fos gene expression (70%). Propose at least one experiment to test your
hypothesis (30%).
B.Sc. Examination 2019
This paper is also taken for the relevant examination for the Associateship of the Royal College
of Science
INTEGRATIVE CELL BIOLOGY
Thursday 20 June 2019 14.00 - 17.00
FOR SECOND YEAR STUDENTS IN BIOCHEMISTRY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
Answer any FOUR questions. Answer each question in a SEPARATE book. Parts of a
question carry equal weighting unless otherwise specified.
1. Discuss the roles of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate in signal transduction
downstream of G protein-coupled receptors (50%) and downstream of receptor
tyrosine kinases (50%).
2. Several common forms of dwarfism are caused by mutations in fibroblast growth
factor receptor 3 (FGFR3). One such mutation is S371C, in which serine 371 is
replaced by cysteine. Residue 371 is located in the extracellular region of FGFR3,
close to the transmembrane region. You are studying the effect of the S371C
mutation on FGFR3 activation and on downstream signalling. You measure FGFR3
phosphorylation (Figure 1A) and expression of the early response gene c-fos (Figure
1B). Given the data below, propose a mechanism for how the S371C mutation might
affect c-fos gene expression (70%). Propose at least one experiment to test your
hypothesis (30%).
