OUR CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS
Using Zebrafish Avatars of BRAIN Cancer Patients to Predict Therapeutic Outcomes and Explore Novel Therapies (zBRAIN)Collaborators: Andreani Odysseos (EPOS-Iasis), Moysis Lambrou (NGH), George Spyrou (CING), Klea Panayidou (EUC)
Funding: Cyprus Research & Innovation Foundation, EXCELLENCE/0524
Funding: Cyprus Research & Innovation Foundation, EXCELLENCE/0524
|
The zBRAIN project advances personalized neuro‐oncology by harnessesing the advantages of orthotopic zebrafish xenografts cancer models created from patient‐derived glioblastoma ("zebrafish avatars"). Glioblastoma is a highly aggressive brain cancer with dismal prognosis and limited treatment options, underscoring the urgent need for innovative, patient-specific therapeutic strategies. zBRAIN's goal is to bridge the gap between preclinical and clinical studies and transform our understanding of brain cancer by employing a "co-clinical study" model, where clinical data from a clinical study with newly diagnosed patients undergoing surgery are integrated with pre-clinical tumor data from each patients' zebrafish avatars. We will also employ an innovative "double-xenograft" approach by co-transplanting the patients' NK cells in the zebrafish avatar, in order to study the patients' tumor-immune reactivity.
|
zBRAIN will also assess the use of zebrafish avatars for testing the in vivo efficacy of innovative miRNA-based cellular therapeutics against glioblastoma. zBRAIN will allow us to study key tumor features of the patients' unique heterogenic signature (tumor growth, invasion, metastasis, treatment response and immune reactivity) in a dynamic, live, time-resolved manner, by combing cutting-edge laboratory techniques (in vivo live confocal imaging and high-throughput in vivo drug screening) with comprehensive clinical data analysis using advanced biostatistics & bioinformatics, in order to assess the robustness of the model's predictive capacity for patient clinical outcomes.
Developing a Pain BIOsensor iN CancEr PatiEnts Using a Novel Pain BiomarkeR (PIONEER)
Collaborators: Chrysafis Andreou (UCY), Diana Nicolaou (UCY), Stavroula Theophanous-Kitiri (BOCOC), Demetris Papamichael (BOCOC), Periklis Zavridis (PC), Kyriakos Stylianides (PASYKAF), Katerina Georgiade (PASYKAF), Sophia Nestoros (ACS), Margarita Philippou (ACS)
Funding: University of Cyprus Research Office - Internal Competitive Grant Round
Collaborators: Chrysafis Andreou (UCY), Diana Nicolaou (UCY), Stavroula Theophanous-Kitiri (BOCOC), Demetris Papamichael (BOCOC), Periklis Zavridis (PC), Kyriakos Stylianides (PASYKAF), Katerina Georgiade (PASYKAF), Sophia Nestoros (ACS), Margarita Philippou (ACS)
Funding: University of Cyprus Research Office - Internal Competitive Grant Round
|
Opiorphin is a naturally occurring peptide in human saliva, believed to modulate pain by enhancing the body’s own opioidergic system. In our PIONEER project, we aim to characterize for the first time opiorphin’s clinical potential as a pain biomarker for cancer pain. To do this, we are running the world's first ever clinical study of opiorphin in cancer patients, through an exploratory, pilot, prospective, case control observational study (called OASIS). We are also creating & validating the first opiorphin bio-detector for accurately quantifying opiorphin in saliva samples. PIONEER employs an interdisciplinary approach that integrates clinical data collection, biochemical assaying and various bioengineering techniques.
|
RESEARCH OUTPUT
Oral Presentations in International Conferences
|
2023 - 19th World Congress in Pharmacology, Glasgow, UK
Our team, composed by Dr Dietis, Ms Hadjiyianni (Year 2 Med student) and Mr Temvriotis (Year 3 Med student) attended in July the WCP2023 in Glasgow and presented the Lab's work on "The ‘Drug Index Visual Map’: creating an open, digital, customisable, visual mapping tool for pharmacology teaching & learning". Andriana and Michael had an excellent presentation and attracted the warmest feedback and congratulations from academics and researchers present. Andriana and Michael were the only undergraduate Medical students presenting in this Congress! We had an excellent time during the Congress, meeting colleagues from around the world and had some fun around Glasgow! |
|
Poster Presentations in Conferences
|
|
Michanikou et al (2024)
1st Conference of the Cyprus Advanced Materials Network, University of Cyprus - Jan 2025, Nicosia. |
|
Koumourou et al (2024)
5th Cyprus Oncology Conference by the Cyprus Anti-Cancer Society and the Cyprus Medical Association - Oct 2024, Limassol. |
Kosofidou et al (2022)
4th Cyprus Oncology Conference by the Cyprus Anti-Cancer Society and the Cyprus Oncology Society - 7th Nov 2022, Limassol. |
Vangeli et al (2022)
1st National Conference on Molecular Life Sciences by the Society of Biological Sciences in Cyprus - 23rd Oct 2022, Nicosia. |
Paul et al (2017)
2017 International Narcotics Research Conference - 9th Jul 2017, Chicago. |
|
|
Dietis et al (2017)
2017 European Behavioural Pharmacology Society Biennial Meeting - 31st Aug 2017, Heraklion, Crete. |
Publications
- Dietis N, Allegaert K, Smits E and Ceci A. Editorial: Supporting pediatric drug development: from basic research to clinical studies and technological advancements. Front. Pediatr. 2024; 12:1477420.
- Savva K, Zachariou M, Bourdakou MM, Dietis N, Spyrou GM. DReAmocracy: A Method to Capitalise on Prior Drug Discovery Efforts to Highlight Candidate Drugs for Repurposing. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2024; 25(10):5319.
- Gregoriou Y, Gregoriou G, Manoli A, Papageorgis P, McLarney B, Vangeli D, McColman S, Yilmaz V, Hsu H, Skubal M, Ogirala A, Athanasiou E, Cramb D, Dietis N, Strati K, Itskos G, Constantinou A, Andreou C. Photophysical and biological assessment of coumarin-6 loaded polymeric nanoparticles as a cancer imaging agent. Sens. Diagn., 2023, 2, 1277-1285.
- Savva K, Zachariou M, Kynigopoulos D, Fella E, Vitali M-I, Kosofidou X, Spyrou M, Sargiannidou I, Panayiotou E, Dietis N., Spyrou G. Preliminary In Vitro and In Vivo Insights of In Silico Candidate Repurposed Drugs for Alzheimer’s Disease. Life, 2023, 13, 1095.
- Minadakis G, Tomazou M, Dietis N, Spyrou GM. Vir2Drug: a drug repurposing framework based on protein similarities between pathogens. Brief Bioinform. 2023 Jan 19;24(1):bbac536.
- Savva K, Zachariou M, Bourdakou MM, Dietis N, Spyrou GM. Network-based stage-specific drug repurposing for Alzheimer's disease. Comput Struct Biotechnol J. 2022 Mar 16;20:1427-1438.
- Paul, A.K.; Woolley, K.L.; Rahmatullah, M.; Wilairatana, P.; Smith, J.A.; Gueven, N.; Dietis, N. Differential Effects of a Novel Opioid Ligand UTA1003 on Antinociceptive Tolerance and Motor Behaviour. Pharmaceuticals 2022, 15, 789.
- Hamidieh AE, Dietis N, Samoylenko A, Meiser I, Nicolaou N, Abdelrady E, Zhyvolozhnyi A, Vainio S, Odysseos O. Optically Active Bionanomachine Interfaces Build Therapeutic Nanonetworks for Glioblastoma Multiforme. 2022 IEEE 16th International Symposium on Medical Information and Communication Technology (ISMICT).
- Tomazou M, Bourdakou M, Minadakis G, Zachariou M, Oulas, Karatzas E, Loizidou E, Kakouri A, Christodoulou C, Savva K, Zanti M, Onisiforou A, Afxenti S, Richter J, Christodoulou C, Kyprianou T, Kolios G, Dietis N, Spyrou G. Multi-omics data integration and network-based analysis drives a multiplex drug repurposing approach to a shortlist of candidate drugs against COVID-19. Briefings in Bioinformatics, Volume 22, Issue 6, November 2021, bbab114.
- Gregoriou Y, Gregoriou G, Yilmaz V, Kapnisis K, Prokopi M, Anayiotos A, Strati K, Dietis N, Constantinou AI, Andreou C. Resveratrol loaded polymeric micelles for theranostic targeting of breast cancer cells. Nanotheranostics, 2021, 5(1):113-124.
- Paul, A.K., Gueven, N, Dietis, N. Profiling the Effects of Repetitive Morphine Administration on Motor Behavior in Rats. Molecules 2021, 26, 4355.
- Paul, A.K. Smith, C.M. Rahmatullah, M. Nissapatorn, V. Wilairatana, P. Spetea, M. Gueven, N. Dietis, N. Opioid Analgesia and Opioid-Induced Adverse Effects: A Review. Pharmaceuticals 2021, 14, 1091.
- Middleton N, Tsioutis C, Kolokotroni O, Heraclides A, Theodosis-Nobelos P, Mamais I, Pantelidou M, Tsaltas D, Christaki E, Nikolopoulos G, Dietis N. Gaps in Knowledge About SARS-CoV-2 & COVID-19 Among University Students Are Associated With Negative Attitudes Toward People With COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study in Cyprus. Front Public Health. 2021 Nov 19;9:758030.
- Dietis, N., Guerrini, R., Calo, G., Salvadori, S., Rowbotham, J.D., Lambert, G.D. Simultaneous targeting of multiple opioid receptors. A strategy to improve side effect profile. Br J Anaesth., 2019, 103 (1): 38-49.
- Savva K, Zachariou M, Oulas A, Minadakis G, Socratous K, Dietis N, Spyrou G. Computational Drug Repurposing for Neurodegenerative Diseases. Book Chapter in "In Silico Drug Design: Repurposing Techniques and Methodologies", 1st edition, 2019, authored by Kunal Roy, produced by Elsevier.
- Ilmi R, Tseriotou E, Stylianou P, Christou YA, Ttofi I, Dietis N, Pitris C, Odysseos AD and Georgiades S. A Novel Conjugate of Bis[((4-bromophenyl)amino)quinazoline], a EGFR-TK Ligand, with a Fluorescent Ru(II)-Bipyridine Complex Exhibits Specific Subcellular Localization in Mitochondria. Molecular Pharmaceutics 2019, 16, 10, 4260– 4273.
- Pitsios C. and Dietis N. Ways to increase adherence to allergen immunotherapy. Current Medical Research and Opinion, 2018, 35:6, 1027-1031.
- Dietis N, Niwa H, Tose R, McDonald J, Ruggieri V, Filaferro M, Vitale G, Micheli L, Ghelardini C, Salvadori S, Calo G, Guerrini R, Rowbotham DJ, Lambert DG. In vitro and in vivo characterisation of the bifunctional MOP/DOP ligand UFP‐505. British Journal of Pharmacology. 2018, Jul; 175(14):2881-2896.
- Paul A, Gueven N, Dietis N. Age-dependent antinociception and behavioral inhibition by morphine. Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior. 2018, May; 168:8.
- Paul A, Gueven N, Dietis N. Data on prolonged morphine-induced antinociception and behavioral inhibition in older rats. Data in Brief, 2018, 19; 183-188.
- Paul A, Gueven N, Dietis N. Morphine dosing strategy plays a key role in the generation and duration of the produced antinociceptive tolerance. Neuropharmacology, 2017; 121, 158-166.
- Yin X, Guven N, Dietis N. Stress-based animal models of depression: Do we actually know what we are doing? Brain Research, 2016; 1652 (2016) 30–42.