Profile
At present, the focus of our investigation is to evaluate the role of mitochondrial noncoding RNAs in pathologies as cancer and virus disease. We are evaluating how the interference of these molecules using antisense interference affects the course of the disease. Therefore, this represent a potential new antineoplasic therapy. Model under study correspond to prostate cancer and hepatic cancer originated after viral infection (hepatitis B virus). We are evaluating the effects of antisense approach in vitro and in vivo murine models.
Teléfono: 223672097
Correo electrónico: Jaime.villegas@unab.cl
- Research Head: Jaime Villegas O. Ph.D
- Undergraduate Students: Vanesa Araya, Carlos Contreras, Mariana Garay.
- Research Assistants: Royer Melendez. Ing. Biotech.
- Post-doctoral Fellows: Emanuel Jeldes, Ph.D
National Collaborations
- Dra Daniela Siel (University Andres Bello)
- Dr. Alberto Martin (Universidad Mayor)
- Dra. Lorena Lobos-Gonzales (Universidad de los Andes)
- Dra. Alejandra Gleisner (Universidad de Chile)
- Dr. Claudio Villota (Universidad Bernardo O’Higgins)
- Dra. Alicia Plaza (Empresa Medvetarom)
Internationals Collaborations
- Dr Carlos Salomon (University of Queensland, Australia)
Publications
Jaime Villegas, Ana María Zárraga, Luis Montecinos, Enrique Werner, Mónica Brito, Ana María Meneses and Luis O. Burzio. A novel chimeric mitochondrial RNA localized in the nucleus of mouse sperm DNA (2000) Cell Biology 19: 579 – 588.
Villegas, J., Araya, P., Bustos-Obregón, E. and Burzio, L.O. Localization of the 16s mitochondrial rRNA in the nucleus of mammalian spermatogenic cells. (2002) Mol. Hum Rep 8:977-983.
Villegas, J., Muller, I., Arredondo, J. Pinto, R. and Burzio, L.O. A putative RNA editing from u to c in a mouse mitochondrial transcript. (2002) Nucleic Acid Research. 30: Nº9 1895 – 1901.
Vivian Wilhelm, Jaime Villegas, Alvaro Miquel, Esteban Engel, Sebastian Bernales, Pablo D.T. Valenzuela and Luis O. Burzio. The complete sequence of the mitochondrial genome of the chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. (2003) Biol. Res. 36: 223-231.
Jaime Villegas, Veronica Burzio, Claudio Villota, Eduardo Landerer, Ronny Martinez, Marcela Santander, Rodrigo Martinez, Rodrigo Pinto, Marıa I. Vera, Enrique Boccardo, Luisa L. Villa and Luis O. Burzio. Expression of a novel non-coding mitochondrial RNA in human proliferating cells. (2007) Nucleic Acid Res. 35: 7336 – 7347.
Verónica A. Burzio, Claudio Villota, Jaime Villegas, Eduardo Landerer, Enrique Boccardo, Luisa L. Villa, Ronny Martínez, Constanza, López, Fancy Gaete, Verónica Toro, Ximena Rodríguez and Luis O. Burzio. Expression of a novel family of non-coding mitochondrial RNAs distinguishes normal from cancer cells. (2009) PNAS 106: 9430-4.
Eduardo Landerer, Jaime Villegas, Veronica A. Burzio, Luciana Oliveira, Claudio Villota, Constanza Lopez, Franko Restovic, Ronny Martinez, Octavio Castillo and Luis O. Burzio. Nuclear localization of the mitochondrial ncRNAs in normal and cancer cells (2011) Cellular Onc. 34: 297 – 305
Rivas, A., Burzio, V., Landerer, E., Borgna, V., Gatica, S., Ávila, R., López, C., Villota, C., de la Fuente, R., Echenique, J., Burzio, L. O. and Villegas, J. Determination of the differential expression of mitochondrial long non-coding RNAs as a noninvasive diagnosis of bladder cancer. (2012) BMC Urology. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2490-12-37
Claudio Villota, America Campos, Soledad Vidaurre, Luciana Oliveira-Cruz, Enrique Boccardo, Veronica A. Burzio, Manuel Varas, Jaime Villegas, Luisa L. Villa, Pablo Valenzuela, Miguel Socias, Sally Roberts, and Luis O. Burzio.Expression of mitochondrial ncRNAs is modulated by high-risk HPV oncogenes. (2012) J. Biol. Chem. Doi:10.1074/jbc.M111.326694.
Vincenzo Borgna, Lorena Lobos-González, Verónica Silva, Constanza López, Mariela Araya, Emanuel Jeldes, Verónica Burzio, Teresa Socias, Luis O. Burzio and Jaime Villegas. The Urgent Need for New Therapeutical Approaches for Renal and Bladder Cancer: Mitochondrial Non-Coding RNAs as Efficient Targets. (1015) SM J Urol.1(3):1012
Lorena Lobos-González, Verónica Silva, Mariela Araya, Franko Restovic, Javiera Echenique, Luciana Oliveira-Cruz, Christopher Fitzpatrick, Macarena Briones, Jaime Villegas, Claudio Villota, Soledad Vidaurre, Vincenzo Borgna, Miguel Socias, Sebastián Valenzuela, Constanza Lopez, Teresa Socias, Manuel Varas, Jorge Díaz, Luis O. Burzio, Verónica A. Burzio. Targeting antisense mitochondrial ncRNAs inhibits murine melanoma tumor growth and metastasis through reduction in survival and invasion factors. (2016) Oncotarget, DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.11110
Villegas J, Borgna V, Burzio VA. “Different cancers, same target? Aging (Albany, NY). (2017) doi: 10.18632/aging.101278. [Epub ahead of print].
Borgna V, Villegas J, Burzio VA, Belmar S, Araya M, Jeldes E, Lobos-González L, Silva V, Villota C, Oliveira-Cruz L, Lopez C, Socias T, Castillo O, Burzio LO. Mitochondrial ASncmtRNA-1 and ASncmtRNA-2 as potent targets to inhibit tumor growth and metastasis in the RenCa murine renal adenocarcinoma model. (2017) Oncotarget. 8(27):43692-43708. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.18460.
Manuel Varas-Godoy, Alvaro Lladser, Nicole Farfan, Claudio Villota, Jaime Villegas, Julio C. Tapia, Luis O. Burzio, Veronica A. Burzio, Pablo D. T. Valenzuela.In vivo knockdown of antisense noncoding mitochondrial RNAs by a lentiviral-encoded shRNA inhibits melanoma tumor growth and metastasis. (2017) Pigment Cell and Melanoma Res. 31(1):64-72. doi: 10.1111/pcmr.12615
Constanza López, Erwin Krauskopf, Claudio Villota, Luis O. Burzio and Jaime Villegas. Cervical cancer, human papillomavirus and vaccines: Assessment of the information retrieved from general knowledge websites in Chile. (2017) Public Health, 148: 19-24.
Claudio Villota, Manuel Varas-Godoy, Emanuel Jeldes, América Campos, Jaime Villegas, Vincenzo Borgna, Luis O. Burzio and Verónica A. Burzio. HPV-18 E2 protein downregulates antisense noncoding mitochondrial RNA-2, delaying replicative senescence of human keratinocytes. (2018) Aging-US. 10:1-10.
Christopher Fitzpatrick, Maximiliano F. Bendek, Macarena Briones, Nicole Farfán, Valeria A. Silva, Gino Nardocci, Martín Montecino, Anne Boland, Jean-François Deleuze, Jaime Villegas, Claudio Villota, Verónica Silva, Lorena Lobos-Gonzalez, Vincenzo Borgna, Eric Barrey, Luis O. Burzio and Verónica A. Burzio. Mitochondrial ncRNA targeting induces cell cycle arrest and tumor growth inhibition of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells through reduction of key cell cycle progression factors. (2019) Cell Death and Disease. 10:423. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-019-1649-3
Lorena Rosa, Lorena Lobos-González, Natalia Muñoz-Durango, Patricia García, Carolina Bizama, Natalia Gómez, Ximena González, Nicolás Saavedra, Francisca Guevara, Elizabeth Carranza, Jaime Villegas, Catterina Ferreccio, Alexis M. Kalergis, Juan Francisco Miquel, Jaime A. Espinoza, and Juan Carlos Roa. Evaluation of ezetimibe and aspirin as chemopreventive strategies in a novel mouse model of gallbladder preneoplasia. (2020) Molecular Oncology. DOI: 10.1002/1878-0261.12766.
Pablo Lara, Sujey Palma-Florez, Edison Salas-Huenuleo, Iva Polakovicova, Simón Guerrero, Lorena Lobos-Gonzalez, America Campos, Luis Muñoz, Carla Jorquera-Cordero, Manuel Varas-Godoy, Jorge Cancino, Eloísa Arias, Jaime Villegas, Luis J. Cruz, Fernando Albericio, Eyleen Araya, Alejandro H. Corvalan, Andrew F. G. Quest and Marcelo J. Kogan. Gold nanoparticle based double-labeling of melanoma extracellular vesicles to determine the specificity of uptake by cells and preferential accumulation in small metastatic lung tumors. (2020). Journal of Nanobiotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-020-0573-0
Vincenzo Borgna, Lorena Lobos-González, Francisca Guevara, Eduardo Landerer, Maximiliano Bendek, Rodolfo Ávila, Verónica Silva, Claudio Villota, Mariela Araya, Alexis Rivas, Constanza López, Teresa Socias, Jorge Castillo, Luis Alarcón, Luis O. Burzio, Verónica A. Burzio and Jaime Villegas. J. Targeting antisense mitochondrial noncoding RNAs induces bladder cancer cell death and inhibition of tumor growth through reduction of survival and invasion factors. (2020) Cancer; 11(7): 1780-1791. doi: 10.7150/jca.38880
Lorena Lobos-González, Rocío Bustos, América Campos, Valeria Silva, Verónica Silva, Emanuel Jeldes, Carlos Salomon, Manuel Varas-Godoy, Albano Cáceres-Verschae, Eduardo Duran, Tamara Vera, Fernando Ezquer, Marcelo Ezquer, Verónica A. Burzio & Jaime Villegas.Exosomes released upon mitochondrial ASncmtRNA knockdown reduce tumorigenic properties of malignant breast cancer cells. (2020) Sci Rep 10, 343. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-57018-1.
Other publications
Lorena Lobos-González, Rocío Bustos, América Campos, Valeria Silva, Verónica Silva, Emanuel Jeldes, Carlos Salomon, Manuel Varas-Godoy, Albano Cáceres-Verschae, Eduardo Duran, Tamara Vera, Fernando Ezquer, Marcelo Ezquer, Verónica A. Burzio & Jaime Villegas. Exosomes released upon mitochondrial ASncmtRNA knockdown reduce tumorigenic properties of malignant breast cancer cells. (2020) Sci Rep 10, 343. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-57018-1.
Vincenzo Borgna, Lorena Lobos-González, Francisca Guevara, Eduardo Landerer, Maximiliano Bendek, Rodolfo Ávila, Verónica Silva, Claudio Villota, Mariela Araya, Alexis Rivas, Constanza López, Teresa Socias, Jorge Castillo, Luis Alarcón, Luis O. Burzio, Verónica A. Burzio and Jaime Villegas. J. Targeting antisense mitochondrial noncoding RNAs induces bladder cancer cell death and inhibition of tumor growth through reduction of survival and invasion factors. (2020) Cancer; 11(7): 1780-1791. doi: 10.7150/jca.38880
Pablo Lara, Sujey Palma-Florez, Edison Salas-Huenuleo, Iva Polakovicova, Simón Guerrero, Lorena Lobos-Gonzalez, America Campos, Luis Muñoz, Carla Jorquera-Cordero, Manuel Varas-Godoy, Jorge Cancino, Eloísa Arias, Jaime Villegas, Luis J. Cruz, Fernando Albericio, Eyleen Araya, Alejandro H. Corvalan, Andrew F. G. Quest and Marcelo J. Kogan. Gold nanoparticle based double-labeling of melanoma extracellular vesicles to determine the specificity of uptake by cells and preferential accumulation in small metastatic lung tumors. (2020). Journal of Nanobiotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-020-0573-0
Lorena Rosa, Lorena Lobos-González, Natalia Muñoz-Durango, Patricia García, Carolina Bizama, Natalia Gómez, Ximena González, Nicolás Saavedra, Francisca Guevara, Elizabeth Carranza, Jaime Villegas, Catterina Ferreccio, Alexis M. Kalergis, Juan Francisco Miquel, Jaime A. Espinoza, and Juan Carlos Roa. Evaluation of ezetimibe and aspirin as chemopreventive strategies in a novel mouse model of gallbladder preneoplasia. (2020) Molecular Oncology. DOI: 10.1002/1878-0261.12766.
Christopher Fitzpatrick, Maximiliano F. Bendek, Macarena Briones, Nicole Farfán, Valeria A. Silva, Gino Nardocci, Martín Montecino, Anne Boland, Jean-François Deleuze, Jaime Villegas, Claudio Villota, Verónica Silva, Lorena Lobos-Gonzalez, Vincenzo Borgna, Eric Barrey, Luis O. Burzio and Verónica A. Burzio. Mitochondrial ncRNA targeting induces cell cycle arrest and tumor growth inhibition of MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells through reduction of key cell cycle progression factors. (2019) Cell Death and Disease. 10:423. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-019-1649-3
Claudio Villota, Manuel Varas-Godoy, Emanuel Jeldes, América Campos, Jaime Villegas, Vincenzo Borgna, Luis O. Burzio and Verónica A. Burzio. HPV-18 E2 protein downregulates antisense noncoding mitochondrial RNA-2, delaying replicative senescence of human keratinocytes. (2018) Aging-US. 10:1-10.
Constanza López, Erwin Krauskopf, Claudio Villota, Luis O. Burzio and Jaime Villegas. Cervical cancer, human papillomavirus and vaccines: Assessment of the information retrieved from general knowledge websites in Chile. (2017) Public Health, 148: 19-24.
Manuel Varas-Godoy, Alvaro Lladser, Nicole Farfan, Claudio Villota, Jaime Villegas, Julio C. Tapia, Luis O. Burzio, Veronica A. Burzio, Pablo D. T. Valenzuela. In vivo knockdown of antisense noncoding mitochondrial RNAs by a lentiviral-encoded shRNA inhibits melanoma tumor growth and metastasis. (2017) Pigment Cell and Melanoma Res. 31(1):64-72. doi: 10.1111/pcmr.12615
Borgna V, Villegas J, Burzio VA, Belmar S, Araya M, Jeldes E, Lobos-González L, Silva V, Villota C, Oliveira-Cruz L, Lopez C, Socias T, Castillo O, Burzio LO. Mitochondrial ASncmtRNA-1 and ASncmtRNA-2 as potent targets to inhibit tumor growth and metastasis in the RenCa murine renal adenocarcinoma model. (2017) Oncotarget. 8(27):43692-43708. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.18460.
Villegas J, Borgna V, Burzio VA. “Different cancers, same target? Aging (Albany, NY). (2017) doi: 10.18632/aging.101278. [Epub ahead of print].
Lorena Lobos-González, Verónica Silva, Mariela Araya, Franko Restovic, Javiera Echenique, Luciana Oliveira-Cruz, Christopher Fitzpatrick, Macarena Briones, Jaime Villegas, Claudio Villota, Soledad Vidaurre, Vincenzo Borgna, Miguel Socias, Sebastián Valenzuela, Constanza Lopez, Teresa Socias, Manuel Varas, Jorge Díaz, Luis O. Burzio, Verónica A. Burzio. Targeting antisense mitochondrial ncRNAs inhibits murine melanoma tumor growth and metastasis through reduction in survival and invasion factors. (2016) Oncotarget, DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.11110
Vincenzo Borgna, Lorena Lobos-González, Verónica Silva, Constanza López, Mariela Araya, Emanuel Jeldes, Verónica Burzio, Teresa Socias, Luis O. Burzio and Jaime Villegas. The Urgent Need for New Therapeutical Approaches for Renal and Bladder Cancer: Mitochondrial Non-Coding RNAs as Efficient Targets. (1015) SM J Urol.1(3):1012
Claudio Villota, America Campos, Soledad Vidaurre, Luciana Oliveira-Cruz, Enrique Boccardo, Veronica A. Burzio, Manuel Varas, Jaime Villegas, Luisa L. Villa, Pablo Valenzuela, Miguel Socias, Sally Roberts, and Luis O. Burzio Expression of mitochondrial ncRNAs is modulated by high-risk HPV oncogenes. (2012) J. Biol. Chem. Doi:10.1074/jbc.M111.326694.
Rivas, A., Burzio, V., Landerer, E., Borgna, V., Gatica, S., Ávila, R., López, C., Villota, C., de la Fuente, R., Echenique, J., Burzio, L. O. and Villegas, J. Determination of the differential expression of mitochondrial long non-coding RNAs as a noninvasive diagnosis of bladder cancer. (2012) BMC Urology. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2490-12-37
Eduardo Landerer, Jaime Villegas, Veronica A. Burzio, Luciana Oliveira, Claudio Villota, Constanza Lopez, Franko Restovic, Ronny Martinez, Octavio Castillo and Luis O. Burzio. Nuclear localization of the mitochondrial ncRNAs in normal and cancer cells (2011) Cellular Onc. 34: 297 – 305
Verónica A. Burzio, Claudio Villota, Jaime Villegas, Eduardo Landerer, Enrique Boccardo, Luisa L. Villa, Ronny Martínez, Constanza, López, Fancy Gaete, Verónica Toro, Ximena Rodríguez and Luis O. Burzio. Expression of a novel family of non-coding mitochondrial RNAs distinguishes normal from cancer cells. (2009) PNAS 106: 9430-4.
Jaime Villegas, Veronica Burzio, Claudio Villota, Eduardo Landerer, Ronny Martinez, Marcela Santander, Rodrigo Martinez, Rodrigo Pinto, Marıa I. Vera, Enrique Boccardo, Luisa L. Villa and Luis O. Burzio. Expression of a novel non-coding mitochondrial RNA in human proliferating cells. (2007) Nucleic Acid Res. 35: 7336 – 7347.
Vivian Wilhelm, Jaime Villegas, Alvaro Miquel, Esteban Engel, Sebastian Bernales, Pablo D.T. Valenzuela and Luis O. Burzio. The complete sequence of the mitochondrial genome of the chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. (2003) Biol. Res. 36: 223-231.
Villegas, J., Muller, I., Arredondo, J. Pinto, R. and Burzio, L.O. A putative RNA editing from u to c in a mouse mitochondrial transcript. (2002) Nucleic Acid Research. 30: Nº9 1895 – 1901.
Villegas, J., Araya, P., Bustos-Obregón, E. and Burzio, L.O. Localization of the 16s mitochondrial rRNA in the nucleus of mammalian spermatogenic cells. (2002) Mol. Hum Rep 8:977-983.
Jaime Villegas, Ana María Zárraga, Luis Montecinos, Enrique Werner, Mónica Brito, Ana María Meneses and Luis O. Burzio. A novel chimeric mitochondrial RNA localized in the nucleus of mouse sperm DNA (2000) Cell Biology 19: 579 – 588.