GIUV2023-547
The group's research activity is multidisciplinary, since it brings together researchers with extensive experience in different fields.The main aim of our research is to study in greater detail the molecular mechanisms of natural priming agents, which prevent oxidative damage associated with different stress situations in plants, and transfer this to preventive treatment in human cells.The members from the University of Valencia have extensive experience in the study of priming mediated by natural compounds, which prevent oxidative distress associated with different types of biotic and abiotic stresses. In previous projects we have carried out phenotypic and histological studies, as well as transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis in tomato and Arabidopsis plants, which allowed us to characterize bioactive molecules that regulate redox homeostasis. We have also continually collaborated with the multinational company Servalesa/De Sangosse through different projects, which facilitates the transfer of the results obtained to the preventive treatment of crops of interest in sustainable agriculture.The results obtained in our previous research show that the bioactive molecules...The group's research activity is multidisciplinary, since it brings together researchers with extensive experience in different fields.The main aim of our research is to study in greater detail the molecular mechanisms of natural priming agents, which prevent oxidative damage associated with different stress situations in plants, and transfer this to preventive treatment in human cells.The members from the University of Valencia have extensive experience in the study of priming mediated by natural compounds, which prevent oxidative distress associated with different types of biotic and abiotic stresses. In previous projects we have carried out phenotypic and histological studies, as well as transcriptomic and metabolomic analysis in tomato and Arabidopsis plants, which allowed us to characterize bioactive molecules that regulate redox homeostasis. We have also continually collaborated with the multinational company Servalesa/De Sangosse through different projects, which facilitates the transfer of the results obtained to the preventive treatment of crops of interest in sustainable agriculture.The results obtained in our previous research show that the bioactive molecules characterized meet the requirements to be good nutritional and therapeutic agents. This led us to start a translational project with Professor Giovanni Mann's Vascular Biology research group at the British Heart Foundation Centre of Research Excellence, King's College London, with the aim of integrating the knowledge acquired in the field of plant priming into that of priming in mammalian cells, based on redox homeostasis. Dr. Mann's group is a world leader in the study of the activation of antioxidant defenses mediated by the transcription factor Nrf2 in endothelial cells subjected to oxidative stress and in vascular dysfunction in various diseases. It has also helped to characterize the mechanism of action of the main Nrf2 inducer, sulforaphane. This isothiocyanate, abundantly present in broccoli, is a plant secondary metabolite that acts as a priming agent against stresses in plants.During my sabbatical in Dr Mann's laboratory in London in 2020, we started the transfer project in collaboration with Dr Patricia Zunszain, an expert in neuroscience research, obtaining very promising results on protection against oxidative stress using priming agents in human endothelial and neuroblastoma cells. These results confirmed the potential of these plant-based molecules as nutritional and therapeutic agents, given their ability to activate antioxidant defenses in human cells. This has also led us to establish collaboration with the group led by Dr. Enrique Roche Collado, professor at the Miguel Hernández University and expert in intervention studies in the area of nutrition, with which we can carry out pilot interventions with the characterized natural compounds.Therefore, our research is currently focused on two areas:In plants, on determining the accumulation of antioxidant metabolites in plants treated with priming agents that provide them with added value for future use in the food and pharmaceutical industry.In humans, on conducting in vitro culture studies of human cells treated with bioactive agents that support their efficacy in vivo, as well as preliminary studies that determine their potential in the prevention and treatment of human diseases, in collaboration with other research groups.
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- Priming de plantas con compuestos naturales y su aplicacion en cultivos de interes, en la nutricion humana y en la prevencion de enfermedades
- Plant priming; Mammalian cells priming; Redox signaling.The lines of research developed by the group are aimed at characterising the priming mechanisms for the induction of defenses in plants and mammalian cells, as well as the study of the redox signalling mechanisms involved in the maintenance of cellular homeostasis.
| Name | Nature of participation | Entity | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| CARMEN GONZALEZ BOSCH | Director | Universitat de València | |
| Research team | |||
| Patricia Zunszain | Collaborator | King's College London | researcher |
- Fitopatología; Priming; Señalización redox; antioxidantes; Cultivo celular
