The Cancer Biophysics Laboratory (CBL) is equipped with a PicoPlus AFM system (Molecular Imaging/Agilent, recently known as 5500 Keysight Technologies). CBL members have also access to a high-performance Cypher ES Environmental AFM (Asylum Research – Oxford Instruments).

More information concerning the AFM related research can be found on the  relevant website http://www.ucy.ac.cy/afm/

AFM related projects:

This section presents projects that were funded and AFM related research is a fundamental part of the proposed research.

Current

European Research Council Consolidator Grant (ERC-CoG): Immuno-Predictor: Mechanical Biomarkers for Cancer Immunotherapy Prediction. April 2020 - March 2025 , €2 000 000

Cyprus Research Promotion Foundation- CYPRUS RESEARCH AWARD – YOUNG RESEARCHER, “The NanoMechanical Profile of Sarcoma” (CULTURE/AWARD-YR/0119, “MehanoSarcoma”), Sempter 2019- December 2021, €60 000.

University of Cyprus Advanced Post-doctoral Research Fellowship “NanoMechanical FingerPrints of Pancreatic Cancer” (PACA-FingerPrints), January 2019 – December 2020, Funding: €74 000.

Past

Horizon 2020 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship (MSCA-IF-2014-658769 MYO-DESMOPLASIA): Modulating the behaviour of cancer myofibroblasts to control tumour desmoplasia. June 2015 - May 2017; €163,649.

Selected AFM related publications:

2019

Panagi M. , C. Voutouri, F. Mpekris, P. Papageorgis, M.R. Martin, J.D. Martin, P. Demetriou, C. Pierides, C. Polydorou, A. Stylianou, M. Louca, L. Koumas, P. Costeas, K. Kataoka and H. Cabral and T.  Stylianopoulos. TGF-β inhibition combined with cytotoxic nanomedicine normalizes triple negative breast cancer microenvironment towards anti-tumor immunity. Theranostics [DOI: 10.7150/thno.36936].

Kontomaris S. V., A. Stylianou, K.S. Nikita, A. Malamou, T. Stylianopoulos. A simplified approach for the determination of fitting constants in Oliver – Pharr method regarding biological samples. Phys. Biol [DOI: 10.1088/1478-3975/ab252e].

Stylianou A., V. Gkretsi, M. Louca, L.C. Zacharia and T. Stylianopoulos. Collagen content and extracellular matrix cause cytoskeletal remodelling in pancreatic fibroblasts. Journal of the Royal Society Interface [DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2019.0226].

Louca M., A. Stylianou, A. Minia, V. Pliaka, L.G. Alexopoulos V. Gkretsi and T. Stylianopoulos. Ras suppressor-1 (RSU-1) promotes cell invasion in aggressive glioma cells and inhibits it in non-aggressive cells through STAT6 phospho-regulation. Scientific Reports [DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-44200-8].

2018

Gkretsi, V., Louca, M., Stylianou, A., George Minadakis, G., Spyrou, G.M and Stylianopoulos, T. Inhibition of breast cancer cell invasion by Ras suppressor-1 (RSU-1) silencing is reversed by Growth Differentiation Factor-15 (GDF-15). Journal of Molecular Sciences, 20 (1) [DOI: 10.3390/ijms20010163].

Stylianou A., M. Lekka and T. Stylianopoulos. AFM Assessing of Nanomechanical FingerPrints for Cancer Early Diagnosis and Classification: from single cell to tissue level. Nanoscale [DOI: 10.1039/C8NR06146G].

Kontomaris S.V., A. Stylianou, A. Malamou and T. Stylianopoulos. A simplified AFM-based model for the calculation of the Young's modulus of cylindrical and spherical shaped samples. Materials Research Express [DOI: 10.1088/2053-1591/aad2c9].

Stylianou A., V. Gkretsi, and T. Stylianopoulos. Atomic Force Microscopy Nano-Characterization of 3D Collagen Gels with Tunable Stiffness. MethodsX  5:503-513 [DOI: 10.1016/j.mex.2018.05.009].

Stylianou A., V. Gkretsi and T. Stylianopoulos. Transforming Growth Factor-β modulates Pancreatic Cancer Associated Fibroblasts cell shape, stiffness and invasion. BBA  1862(7):1537-1546 [DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagen.2018.02.009].

2017

Stylianou A., Gkretsi V., Patrickios C.S., Stylianopoulos T. Exploring the Nano-Surface of Collagenous and Other Fibrotic Tissues with AFM. In: Rittié L. (eds) Fibrosis. Methods in Molecular Biology, vol 1627. Humana Press, New York, NY [DOI: 0.1007/978-1-4939-7113-8_29].

Gkretsi V., A. Stylianou, M. Louca, and T. Stylianopoulos. Identification of Ras suppressor-1 (RSU-1) as a potential breast cancer metastasis biomarker using a three-dimensional in vitro approach. Oncotarget 8(16):27364-27379. [DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.16062].

Gkretsi V., A. Stylianou, and T. Stylianopoulos. Vasodilator-Stimulated Phosphoprotein (VASP) depletion from breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells inhibits tumor spheroid invasion through downregulation of Migfilin, β-catenin and urokinase-plasminogen activator (uPa). Experimental Cell Research 352(2): 281-292. [DOI: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2017.02.019].

2016

Stylianou A., and T. Stylianopoulos. Atomic force microscopy probing of cancer cells and tumor microenvironment components. BioNanoScience 6(1): 33-46. [DOI: 10.1007/s12668-015-0187-4].

2015

Gkretsi V., A. Stylianou, P. Papageorgis, C. Polydorou, and T. Stylianopoulos T. Remodeling components of the tumor microenvironment to enhance cancer therapy. Frontiers in Oncology 5: 214. [DOI: 10.3389/fonc.2015.00214].