Instituto Antofagasta

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https://repositorioabierto.uantof.cl/handle/uantof/522

El Instituto de Antofagasta (IA) fue creado en agosto de 2007 con la misión de contribuir al desarrollo sustentable de la comunidad regional, incentivando, innovando y ampliando la investigación técnico – científica con un carácter multidisciplinario en áreas de recursos renovables, biodiversidad y medio ambiente. La región de Antofagasta concentra su actividad económica en la minería. No obstante, por tratarse de un ecosistema desértico único en el mundo, dispone de una biodiversidad y condiciones climatológicas particulares lo cual representa una oportunidad excepcional para el estudio y desarrollo de actividades económicas basadas en los recursos naturales renovables, generando en un mediano plazo alternativas económicas sustentables, no mineras, para los habitantes de esta Región. Por lo tanto, el principal objetivo del IA es generar nuevas oportunidades de desarrollo económico sustentable para la Región de Antofagasta a través de la investigación científica y tecnológica en el área de los recursos naturales renovables, basada en la innovación y transferencia tecnológica. Además, el IA contribuirá a la formación de capital humano postgraduado y se convertirá en un polo de atracción para la inserción de jóvenes profesionales a las tareas de investigación, innovación y transferencia tecnológica en recursos naturales renovables, mediante pasantías, becas nacionales e internacionales, de pregrado y postgrado. Unas de las principales tareas del Instituto de Antofagasta es desarrollar, fomentar y colaborar multidisciplinariamente en la investigación técnico- científica con el objeto de fortalecer el avance de nuestra Región. Con este propósito el IA alberga varios Laboratorios de Investigación.

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Exo70 intracellular redistribution after repeated mild traumatic brain injury
(2021) Matías Lira; Pedro Zamorano; Waldo Cerpa
Exo70 is a subunit of the greater exocyst complex, a collection of proteins that oversees cellular membrane addition and polarized exocytosis by acting as a tethering intermediate between the plasma membrane and newly synthesized secretory vesicles. Although Exo70 function has been implicated in several developmental events including cytokinesis and the establishment of cell polarity, its role in neuropathologies is poorly understood. On the other hand, traumatic brain injury is the result of mechanical external force including contusion, fast acceleration, and expansive waves that produce temporal or permanent cognitive damage and triggers physical and psychosocial alterations including headache, memory problems, attention deficits, difficulty thinking, mood swings, and frustration. Traumatic brain injury is a critical health problem on a global scale, constituting a major cause of deaths and disability among young adults. Trauma-related cellular damage includes redistribution of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors outside of the synaptic compartment triggering detrimental effects to neurons. The exocyst has been related to glutamate receptor constitutive trafficking/delivery towards synapse as well. This work examines whether the exocyst complex subunit Exo70 participates in traumatic brain injury and if it is redistributed among subcellular compartments Results: Our analysis shows that Exo70 expression is not altered upon injury induction. By using subcellular fractionation, we determined that Exo70 is redistributed from microsomes fraction into the synaptic compartment after brain trauma. In the synaptic compartment, we also show that the exocyst complex assembly and its interaction with GluN2B are increased. Finally, we show that the Exo70 pool that is redistributed comes from the plasma membrane. Conclusions: The present findings position Exo70 in the group of proteins that could modulate GluN2B synaptic availability in acute neuropathology like a traumatic brain injury. By acting as a nucleator factor, Exo70 is capable of redirecting the ensembled complex into the synapse. We suggest that this redistribution is part of a compensatory mechanism by which Exo70 is able to maintain GluN2B partially on synapses. Hence, reducing the detrimental effects associated with TBI pathophysiology.
Glutamatergic Receptor Trafficking and Delivery: Role of the Exocyst Complex
(2020) Matías Lira; Rodrigo G. Mira; Francisco J. Carvajal; Pedro Zamorano; Nibaldo C. Inestrosa; Waldo Cerpa
Cells comprise several intracellular membrane compartments that allow them to function properly. One of these functions is cargo movement, typically proteins and membranes within cells. These cargoes ride microtubules through vesicles from Golgi and recycling endosomes to the plasma membrane in order to be delivered and exocytosed. In neurons, synaptic functions employ this cargo tra cking to maintain inter-neuronal communication optimally. One of the complexes that oversee vesicle tra cking and tethering is the exocyst. The exocyst is a protein complex containing eight subunits first identified in yeast and then characterized in multicellular organisms. This complex is related to several cellular processes, including cellular growth, division, migration, and morphogenesis, among others. It has been associated with glutamatergic receptor tracking and tethering into the synapse, providing the molecular machinery to deliver receptor-containing vesicles into the plasma membrane in a constitutive manner. In this review, we discuss the evidence so far published regarding receptor tracking and the exocyst complex in both basal and stimulated levels, comparing constitutive tracking and long-term potentiation-related tracking.

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