Díaz Espinoza Rodrigo

Email: 
rodrigo.diaz.e@usach.cl

Abstract: Our research is devoted to study the biochemical and biophysical properties of aggregated proteins and peptides and to explore their implications on biology and chemistry. During the last years, we have focused on developing diverse synthetic aggregated peptides that form supra-molecular assemblies called amyloids. In the amyloid state, these peptides can exhibit catalytic properties and hence they behave like enzymes.  Our main current interests are:

  • Develop catalytic amyloids that can have applications in biotechnology as novel bio-nanomaterials
  • Study the emerging catalytic activities of pathological amyloids such as those involved in neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer’s, Parkinson´s disease, etc.) 
  • Explore the implications of amyloids in Astrobiology, including their potential role in chemical evolution during prebiotic stages
  • Study the folding and misfolding of proteins

 

Línea(s) de investigación: 
Bioquímica Evolutiva y Bionanotecnología
Jerarquía: 
Asociado
Grados académicos /educación: 
Ph.D. en Biofísica Molecular, Universidad de Texas, USA (2011)
Ingeniero en Biotecnología Molecular, Universidad de Chile (2006)
Licenciado en Ingeniería en Biotecnología Molecular, Universidad de Chile (2004)
Publicaciones: 
  1. Diaz-Espinoza R, Catalytically Active Amyloids as Future Bionanomaterials, Nanomaterials, 2022;12(21):3802, doi: 10.3390/nano12213802.
  2. Castillo-Caceres C, Duran-Meza E, Diaz-Espinoza R, Design and Testing of Synthetic Catalytic Amyloids Based on the Active Site of Enzymes, Methods in Molecular Biology, 2022;2538:207-216, doi: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2529-3_14
  3. Diaz-Espinoza R, Recent High-Resolution Structures of Amyloids Involved in Neurodegenerative Diseases, Frontiers in Aging Neurosciences, 2021;19, doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2021.782617
  4. Duran-Meza E, Diaz-Espinoza R, Catalytic Amyloids as Novel Synthetic Hydrolases, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2021;22(17):9166. doi: 10.3390/ijms22179166
  5. Castillo-Caceres C, Duran-Meza E, Nova E, Araya-Secchi R, Monasterio O, Diaz-Espinoza R, Functional characterization of the ATPase-like activity displayed by a catalytic amyloid, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - General Subjects, 1865(1):e pub 129729, 2020
  6. Diaz-Espinoza R, Morales R, Concha-Marambio L, Moreno-Gonzalez I, Moda F, Soto C, Treatment with a non-toxic, self-replicating anti-prion delays or prevents prion disease in vivo, Nature Molecular Psychiatry, (3):777-788, 2018
  7. Shahnawaz M, Park KW, Mukherjee A, Diaz-Espinoza R, Soto C, Prion-like characteristics of the bacterial protein Microcin E492, Nature Scientific Reports, (7): 45720, 2017 
  8. Diaz-Espinoza R, Nova E, Monasterio O, Overcoming electrostatic repulsions during amyloid assembly: Effect of pH and interaction with divalent metals using model peptides. Archives on Biochemistry and Biophysics, 621(1):46-53, 2017 
  9. Moreno-Gonzalez I, Edwards III G, Salvadores N, Shahnawaz M, Diaz-Espinoza R, Soto C, Molecular interaction between type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease through cross-seeding of protein misfolding, Nature Molecular Psychiatry, (9):1327-1334, 2017
  10. Monasterio O, Nova E, Diaz-Espinoza R, Development of a novel catalytic amyloid displaying a metal-dependent ATPase-like activity, Biochemistry and Biophysics Research Communications, 482(4):1194-1200, 2016
  11. Morales R, Hu P, Duran-Aniotz C, Moda F, Diaz-Espinoza R, Chen B, Bravo-Alegria J, Makarava N, Baskakov I, Soto C. Strain-dependent profile of misfolded prion protein aggregates. Nature Scientific Reports, (6):20526, 2016
  12. Concha-Marambio L, Diaz-Espinoza R, Soto C. The extent of protease resistance of misfolded prion protein is highly dependent on the salt concentration. The Journal of Biophysical Chemistry, 289(5):3073-9, 2014
  13. Morales R, Duran-Aniotz C, Diaz-Espinoza R, Camacho MV, Soto C. Protein misfolding cyclic amplification of infectious prions. Nature Protocols, 28;7(7):1397-409, 2012
  14. Diaz-Espinoza R, Soto C. High resolution structure of infectious prion protein: the final frontier. Nature Structural and Molecular Biology, 19(4): 370-7, 2012
  15. Diaz-Espinoza R, Mukherjee A, Soto C. Kosmotropic Anions Promote Conversion of Recombinant Prion Protein into a PrPSc-like Misfolded Form. PLoS ONE, 7(2):e31678, 2012
  16. Diaz-Espinoza R, Soto C. Generation of prions in vitro and the protein-only hypothesis. Prion, 4(2):53-9, 2010
  17. Morales, R, Estrada, LD, Diaz-Espinoza R, Morales-Scheihing D, Jara MC, Castilla J, Soto C. Molecular Cross Talk between Misfolded Proteins in Animal Models of Alzheimer’s and Prion Diseases. Journal of Neuroscience, 30(13):4528-35, 2010
  18. Banks WA, Robinson SM, Diaz-Espinoza R, Urayama A, Soto C. Transport of prion protein across the blood-brain barrier. Experimental Neurology, 218(1):162-7, 2009
  19. Diaz-Espinoza R, Garces, AP, Arbildua JJ, Montecinos F, Brunet JE, Lagos R, Monasterio O. Domain folding and flexibility of Escherichia coli FtsZ determined by tryptophan site-directed mutagenesis. Protein Science, 16: 1543-1556, 2007
Premios y Honores: 
  • 2021. Premio Primer Lugar en Concurso Nacional "Historias de la Ciencia Chilena", organizado por Merck Chile
  • 2015. Incorporación a la Sociedad de Bioquímica y Biología Molecular de Chile - Chile
  • 2010. Premio “Robert Welch Award for Excellence in Graduate Research in Chemistry” - Universidad de Texas, USA
  • 2009. Premio “Leroy Olson, PhD Endowed Award”- Universidad de Texas, USA
  • 2008. Premio “Dennis Bowman Memorial Award” - Universidad de Texas, USA
  • 2008. “Beca Gestión Propia” – CONICYT – Chile
  • 2007. Miembro electo de sociedad de honor “Phi Kappa Phi” - USA
  • 2006. Titulado con distinción máxima de Ingeniería en Biotecnología Molecular, Universidad de Chile - Chile
  • 2005. Primer lugar en ranking de egreso de Licenciatura en Ingeniería en Biotecnología Molecular, Universidad de Chile - Chile
  • 2004. Beca RELAB para pasantía de investigación en Universidad Federal de Minas Gerais - Brasil
Proyectos: 
  • 2022 – 2025: Fondecyt Explorador - “Exploring the use of Amyloids as Minimalist Enzymes for Industrial Applications” - Director - Investigador Principal
  • 2021 – 2024: Fondecyt Regular - “An Experimental Study of the Involvement of Catalytic Amyloids on Prebiotic Chemistry” - Investigador Principal
  • 2017 – 2019: Proyecto CORFO “Plataforma de innovación en Envases y Embalajes de alimentos” - Co-Investigador
  • 2016 – 2019: Proyecto Inserción en la Academia “Fortalecimiento de la docencia de pregrado en Bioquímica e implementación de una nueva línea de investigación en biología estructural y computacional orientadas a los Doctorados de Neurociencias y Biotecnología” - Investigador Principal
  • 2016 – 2019: Fondecyt de Inicio - “An Exploratory Approach to Study the Catalytic Properties of Amyloids and their Biological Implications” - Investigador Principal
  • 2014 – 2016: Fondecyt Postdoctorado - “Emergence of Nucleotidyltransferase Activity from Self-Assembled Peptide Amyloids” - Investigador Principal