{"id":482693,"date":"2026-04-17T13:33:27","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T11:33:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/news\/scoperto-un-meccanismo-chiave-contro-la-carenza-di-ossigeno-e-condiviso-da-piante-ed-esseri-umani-e-si-attiva-nei-primi-5-minuti\/"},"modified":"2026-04-23T14:35:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-23T12:35:04","slug":"a-key-mechanism-against-oxygen-deprivation-has-been-discovered","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/en\/news\/a-key-mechanism-against-oxygen-deprivation-has-been-discovered\/","title":{"rendered":"A key mechanism against oxygen deprivation has been discovered: shared by plants and humans and activated within the first five minutes"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A single protein acts as a true \u201csurvival switch\u201d when oxygen becomes scarce<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, and this mechanism is shared by plants and animals, including humans. This is the key finding of an international study published in <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pnas.org\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.2524358123\"><b><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">PNAS<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, involving <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">the University of Pisa, the Scuola Superiore Sant\u2019Anna and the University of Oxford<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">. The research identified the molecular mechanism that is activated in the very first minutes of hypoxia, triggering the cellular defence response.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-481109 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/Senza-titolo-1-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/Senza-titolo-1-2.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/Senza-titolo-1-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/Senza-titolo-1-2-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cWe have shown that the initiation of the hypoxia response depends on a single molecular circuit based on one protein,\u201d explains <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Beatrice Giuntoli<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, Professor in the Department of Biology at the University of Pisa and co-author of the study. \u201cIt acts like a switch: within the first few minutes, cells detect the lack of oxygen and immediately activate their defence mechanisms.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cWhat is particularly interesting is that this molecular \u2018trigger\u2019 is not limited to plants,\u201d Giuntoli adds. \u201cA very similar protein is also present in humans and plays a role in how cells sense changes in oxygen levels. It is not the only system in humans, but in certain tissues it may play an important role, with very rapid timing, similar to what is observed in plants.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-481107 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/Senza-titolo-3-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/Senza-titolo-3-1.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/Senza-titolo-3-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/Senza-titolo-3-1-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">When oxygen levels drop, the ability to respond quickly is crucial. In plants, <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">this initial signal is mediated by a family of enzymes known as Plant Cysteine Oxidases (PCOs)<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">, which act as molecular sensors and activate the genes required to adapt to stress. All other response mechanisms, already known, come into play only later, but it is this initial \u201ctrigger\u201d that determines the effectiveness of the response.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">A similar mechanism also exists in humans:<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> it involves the ADO enzyme, a functional homologue of plant PCOs, which contributes to oxygen sensing in tissues.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201c<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The innovation of this research also lies in its methodology<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">,\u201d Giuntoli continues. \u201cTo isolate and study this mechanism in its simplest form, we used <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">an<\/span><\/b> <b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">innovative synthetic biology approach<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">: we essentially \u2018transplanted\u2019 the molecular circuit from plants into yeast cells, an organism that does not naturally possess this system. This allowed us to observe the circuit\u2019s behaviour directly, without interference, and to demonstrate that it alone is sufficient to initiate the hypoxia response.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The experiment showed that <\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">the response is activated extremely rapidly <\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u2014<\/span><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> within approximately five minutes<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"auto\"> \u2014 confirming that the earliest moments are crucial for cellular survival. Only afterwards do other mechanisms intervene to amplify and stabilise the response.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cIn plants, oxygen deprivation is a frequent condition, for example during flooding,\u201d Giuntoli concludes. \u201cIn these contexts, the speed of the response can make the difference between life and death.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A study reveals that the molecular system triggering cellular defence under hypoxic conditions has been conserved throughout animal evolution<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":481110,"menu_order":1,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"tag-notizie-persone":[],"tags_news":[281],"categorie":[159],"class_list":["post-482693","news","type-news","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tags_news-department-of-biology","categorie-unipinews-en"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A key mechanism against oxygen deprivation has been discovered: shared by plants and humans and activated within the first five minutes ~ UNIPI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unipi.it\/en\/news\/a-key-mechanism-against-oxygen-deprivation-has-been-discovered\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" 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