Instructional materials summary – Harvard SI 2012
Title of teachable tidbit: Cell-Signaling
General Topic:
Cell and Development
Two sentence synopsis of tidbit:
Using group work, clicker questions, an analogy and other active learning techniques,
students learn the basics of cell signaling and can apply it to explain how neutrophils can
chase and kill bacteria.
Type of activity (or activities):
Clicker questions, think pair share/group model drawing
Designed for what level course
and type of students?
Sophomore level course, introduction to cell-cell signaling
Materials required:
Clickers, large sheet of paper or white boards, markers, internet access (for youtube
movie)
Comments on out of class
preparation required by students
and instructor:
Activity can be scaled up or down, but as presented here students should understand
that proteins perform functions in the cell and students should know some differences
between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells
General comments:
List five keywords that would
allow others to search for this
activity in a database:
Neutrophil Chase, Cell Signaling, Signal Transduction, Receptor, Actin Cytoskeletal
Rearrangement, fMLP,Voted Best of 2011 Northeast National Academies Summer
Institute Cell Biology Presentation
Names and institutions of group
members:
Jill Penn, Mary Madabhushi (Harvard University)
Rebecca Pearlman, Richard Shingles, Kathryn Tifft (Johns Hopkins University)
Jack Horne, David Zuzga (Pace University)
Facilitator: Jen Nauen (University of Delaware)
Contact person for questions:
Jill Penn
penn@fas.harvard.edu
Teachable Tidbit for a Sophomore Level
Discussion on Cell Signaling
Jill Penn, Mary Madabhushi (Harvard University)
Rebecca Pearlman, Richard Shingles, Kathryn Tifft (Johns Hopkins University)
Jack Horne, David Zuzga (Pace University)
Facilitator: Jen Nauen (University of Delaware)
HHMI / The National Academies Summer Institute
on Undergraduate Education in Biology 2012
Learning Goals
 1) Learn to create and interpret diagrams of
biological processes.
 2) Understand cell signaling in terms of signal,
receptor, relay and output.
Intended Outcomes
Students will be able to…
1) define and classify fundamental components of
signaling pathways.
2) diagram a representative signaling pathway.
3) interpret signaling pathway diagrams to predict
outputs.
How Do Cells Communicate?
http://youtu.be/OWUmXx5V_wE
Simple model
Signal
Receptor
Cell Membrane
Relay Molecules
Output
Modeling Activity
 Imagine that your dorm room represents a cell.
 The extracellular signal is the ethernet wire entering
your dorm room.
 The cell membrane receptor is your wireless router.
 Your router then sends out two signals—one to your
computer and one to your roommate’s computer.
 The functional output is music playing from both
computers.
 Model this pathway using the symbols above.
 What is the relative output of the two computers?
Modeling Activity (Part Deux)
 You secretly turn off your roommate’s wireless card,
so you can covertly stream a high definition video on
your computer.
 Modify your model to reflect these changes…
Ethernet
Cable
Ethernet
Cable
Wireless
Router
Wireless
Router
Comp.
1
Comp.
2
Comp.
1
Music
(50%)
Music
(50%)
Movie
(100%)
Dorm Room
Pathway Diagram
Comp.
2
Dorm Room
Modified Diagram
Pathways Can Be Modified
X
If the protein represented by the
orange is mutated and nonfunctional,
what do you predict will be the effect
on the output (the green node) of the
pathway?
A - No change
B - Increase
C - Decrease
D - I don't know
X
Simple model
Signal
Receptor
Cell Membrane
Relay Molecules
Output
A
B
C
Pertussis Toxin
Assign the boxes above one
of the following terms:
Receptor
Output
Relay
Signal
D
Actin
Reorganization
Acknowledgements
 HHMI / National Academies
 Harvard University
 Rob Lue and Jenny Frederick, SI Co-Directors
 Jen Nauen, University of Delaware
Supplemental Materials
 Alternate Versions of the fMLP Pathway Figure
 Additional Questions to use with Students
Various alternate versions of the
fMLP pathway figure
 Pick one that you like and you can even alter it further!
A
B
C
Assign
each of
the
following
to a letter
in the
diagram:
Signal
Receptor
Relay
Output
D
A
B
C
Pertussis Toxin
Assign the boxes above one
of the following terms:
Receptor
Output
Relay
Signal
D
Actin
Reorganization
A
B
C
D
Additional optional questions on
the fMLP pathway diagram
(for clickers, class discussion, homework, exams, etc.)
 Suppose you study a different type of white blood cell that is NOT a neutrophil. You
expose it to the same chemo attractant that made the neturophil chase the bacterial
cell. However, in this case, nothing happens. What is the most likely explanation?
 [Ask students to discuss first with their neighbors before being presented with any of the
possible answers.]





A.
B.
C.
D.
E.





What does each glowing letter "P" represent?
What are the blobs sitting on the DNA in the nucleus?
Which of the following is an outcome of stimulation by chemo attractants?
Are there any inhibitors shown in this diagram? Explain.
What is one question you still have about the diagram?
This white blood cell lacks a nucleus.
This white blood cell has a faulty endoplasmic reticulum.
This white blood cell lacks the receptor for the chemoattractant.
This white blood cell has only RNA, but not DNA in its nucleus.
None of the above