Dr. Óscar Cerda
Head of the Milenio Nucleus for Ion Channel Associated Diseases (MINICAD)
Associate Professor at the Biomedic Science Institute, Cellular and Molecular Biology Program
Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile
The Milenio Nucleus for Ion Channel Associated Diseases (MINICAD) is a scientific research centre of excellence funded by the Milenio Science Inititative, a unit of the Executive Secretariat at the Ministry of Economy, Development and Tourism from Chilean Government.
The centre gathers 14 academics teaching and doing research at six universities (University of Chile, USACH, University of Talca, UACH, PUC and UNAB) housed in three regions of the country (Metropolitan, Maule and Los Ríos). Each researcher is in charge of one laboratory that, as a group, they develop strong knowledge linked to lines or research such as: proteomics, cell signaling, physiology, imaging, bioinformatics and cell modeling.
What is an ion channel?
Channel ions are proteins that allow the entry and exit of different types of ions (electrically charged particles). This ion transfer (potasium, calcium, sodium, among others) allows a series of physiological events. However, when these ‘gates’ start working abnormally, it favours the appearance of different diseases affecting our health.
At MINICAD we seek to create potential therapies to interfere in the regulation of these altered channels, stopping damaging processes associated to their functioning. Inside these processes, we can mention the link of certain channels to cell migration (linked to metastasis), pain and cardiovascular disorders.
Specificity: key for research
There are more than 300 types of ion channels, which are classified according to their structure. However, as we can’t study all of them, we focus on the analysis of a particular class among them, called TRP (transient receptor potential).
With TRP channels, we are developing experiments that, as expected, help us create drugs that regulate these relevant proteins. In this context, at MINICAD we’ve created different peptide-based instruments that would ‘compete’ against natural ways for channel transfer associated to diseases, to the cell’s membrane, which could nullify their coupling and, thus, its functioning.
Ultimately, it’s preventing an ion channel from reaching its destination. On the other hand, we’ve identified new regions in the channel structure that might serve as targets for modulation.
For the moment, the 89 people that form MINICAD are arduously working for this purpose, and we hope to end with positive news our first period of operations.