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Persnal Medicine Unleashed:
Using Zebrafish Avatars of BRAIN Cancer Patients to Predict Therapeutic Outcomes and Explore Novel Therapies THE BLOG |
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 Our co-clinical trial phase of sample collection is progressing at a remarkable pace. Since our first sample collection a few weeks ago, we are already counting 4 collected brain samples from oncology patients at the Neurosurgery Department of the Nicosia General Hospital. What is also striking to observe is that the sample collected was at a considerable quantity given the type of surgery required and the diagnosis.
ℹ️ What happens after we collect each sample? There are four steps that need to be completed. 1) First, the collection itself, requires high-level organization and communication between the clinical and research team members. The sample is collected in tubes filled with tissue culture medium, on ice, and needs to travel from the surgery room to the lab in less than 15mins. 2) The second step is to "clean" the sample upon arrival, by washing it with PBS and cutting it down with special microsurgery equipment into very fine pieces (less than 1mm). 3) The third step is to distinguish the fine brain tissue ("clean" sample) from other bits of tissue that co-existed in the sample ("dirty" sample). These two samples are processed individually from now on. 4) After a few steps of more washing and centrifuging of the "clean" sample, it is processed for deep freezing at -80'C until its ready to be used either in vitro or in vivo for transplantation in zebrafish. The "dirty" sample is processed further (shredded & washed) and incubated in tissue culture flasks to identify & distinguish alive tumor & other TME cells by adherence to the flask surface, from dead cells floating. The time taken to complete step 4 in our case, is less than 1.5 hours, which is well within the quality standard of <3 hours that is expected in high quality studies, as described in Good Clinical Standards.
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📢 𝗔𝗻 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘇𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡! we have now completed the collection, transfer, processing, and cryopreservation of our FIRST human glioblastoma tumour sample within the project workflow! The sample will be used for the generation of Zebrafish Avatars (patient-derived orthotopic zebrafish cancer xenografts) for that patient. 🩺 This is an important step for us because it marks the real operational start of the zBRAIN co-clinical trial; a core part of the zBRAIN platform. It also confirms that the protocols, logistics, and coordination required for patient-linked sample handling are firmly in place and working as intended. 🤝 From the clinic to the laboratory, this process depended on close organization and teamwork across multiple people and groups. It was a strong reminder that translational research is never a one-person effort. 💪 A sincere thank you and well done to our clinical partners at the 𝗡𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗼𝗳 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝘀𝗶𝗮 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 led by Director Dr Akis Lambrou, with special thanks to the surgeon 𝗗𝗿 𝗗𝗲𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 and his surgical team, and of course to our fantastic laboratory team at the University of Cyprus, Senior Post-Doc 𝗗𝗿 𝗞𝘆𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗸𝗼𝘀 𝗔𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗴𝗴𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘂 and Research Assistant Ioanna Koupepia, whose preparation, coordination, and professionalism helped this first milestone run smoothly from sample collection to cryopreservation.
⚕️ At the same time, milestones like this should always be viewed with perspective. Behind every sample is a patient facing a very serious diagnosis, and that reality remains central to why this work matters. We look forward to sharing next steps as this sample moves into the xenografting phase of the workflow!  𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘇𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲! 🐟+🧠 = 🔬 zBRAIN is a project-based research platform focused on the development of patient-derived zebrafish cancer xenografts (𝗭𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗳𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗔𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀) for brain cancer, with a focus on 𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮 (GBM). 🧠 GBM is one of the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat cancers known today. There is limited ability to predict how individual patients will respond to the (limited) therapy available (mainly temozolamide). A 𝗺𝗮𝗷𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 lies in the lack of a reliable in vivo model that enables rapid and systematic evaluation of a patients' treatment response. 𝘇𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡 addresses this gap by using a powerful patient-derived zebrafish xenograft model, where tumour cells from individual patients are studied within a living organism, longitudinally. This 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗱 approach enables the evaluation of a patient's tumour behaviour and therapeutic response, in just under 7 days. 🔬 This is why we are developing the 𝘇𝗕𝗥𝗔𝗜𝗡 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺; an integrated modular system that combines a powerful in vivo cancer model (Zebrafish Avatars), with a scalable experimental pipeline (xenografting → drug screening → data acquisition/imaging) and a strong analytical layer (AI/ML-based data analysis & multi-omic bioinformatics).
🩺 By integrating Zebrafish Avatars within a translational framework (i.e. a co-clinical trial) zBRAIN aims to improve the 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 of treatment outcomes and support the development of more 𝗲𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗶𝗲𝘀 for GBM. 💪 zBRAIN is being developed within the Experimental Pharmacology Laboratory (Nikolas Dietis Lab) at the University of Cyprus Medical School, and co-developed by strong collaborators such as the 𝗡𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰 at the Nicosia General Hospital (ΟΚΥπΥ - State Health Services Organisation), the CING Bioinformatics Department, and the EPOS-IASIS - An Innovative Company - An EIC Declared Global Innovator, supported by exceptional leaders & experts such as Akis Lambrou, Costas Pitris, Andreani Odysseos and George Spyrou. 💰 zBRAIN is being funded by the Cyprus Research and Innovation Foundation and the University of Cyprus. We will be sharing here our ongoing work, methodological developments, and research outputs as the zBRAIN platform evolves. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗱! 📢 |
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