Dr. Maria Petrosino, researcher at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, will have a seminar on "Cyanide Signaling Beyond Toxicity: A New Gasotransmitter in Health and Disease" on Monday, July 13, at 12:00 p.m. in the Aula Magna "Emmanuele F.M. Emanuele" at Biogem.

After a MA and PhD from Sapienza University of Rome, Dr. Petrosino specialized in the study of cellular metabolism and of the physiology of gasotransmitters. In this field, she collaborated in discovering the endogenous production of hydrogen cyanide in mammalian cells. This discovery radically redefined our understanding of cellular physiology: at physiological concentrations, endogenous cyanide plays a protective role, modulating mitochondrial metabolism and cellular bioenergetics. Research has also shown that excessive cyanide production is associated with pathological conditions such as Down syndrome and non-ketotic hyperglycinemia (also known as glycine encephalopathy), thus opening up new, promising therapeutic perspectives in the biomedical field.