Beljanski Research
Below you will find Dr. Mirko Beljanski’s 133 Research Publications
A DNA based assay for screening compounds for anti-cancer potential identified four green teas with impressive anti-cancer effect. An extract was prepared from a combination of all four of the teas and this extract was tested for anti-cancer activity in cell based assays in Dr. Qi Chen’s laboratory at the Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology and Therapeutics, University of Kansas Medical Center. When tested against extracts of other well-known teas, the four green tea blend had the most potent anti-cancer effect. This research was accepted for presentation at the 16th International Conference of the Society for Integrative Oncology and published in EC Nutrition.
Low platelet counts, a condition called thrombocytopenia, is a side effect of chemo drugs that damage the bone marrow stem cells that normally produce platelets. This Phase I trial showed that Beljanski’s RNA fragments could prevent thrombocytopenia by inducing the production of new platelets. Patients taking the RNA fragments had their platelet levels return to normal and chemotherapy treatments were completed without dose reductions, platelet transfusions, or suspensions. The RNA fragments protected platelet levels in patients with many different types of cancer who were taking many different anti-cancer drugs. Moreover, patients did not suffer any negative side effects as a result of taking the RNA fragments.
In preclinical pancreatic cancer models, Rauwolfia vomitoria extract induced apoptosis in pancreatic cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner. The combination of Rauwolfia extract and gemcitabine had a synergistic effect in inhibiting cell growth. Pancreatic tumor growth was significantly suppressed by Rauwolfia treatment and metastasis was inhibited as well. Adding Rauwolfia extract to gemcitabine treatment further reduced tumor burden and metastatic potential in the gemcitabine resistant tumors. These data suggest that Rau possesses anti–pancreatic cancer activity and could improve the effect of gemcitabine.
Pao pereira extract induced dose-dependent apoptosis in all tested pancreatic cancer cell lines. The combination of Pao extract and Gemcitabine had a synergistic effect in the inhibition of cancer cell growth. Mice with pancreatic tumors were treated with Pao extract and Gemcitabine, either alone or in combination. While Gemcitabine did not provide significant inhibition, Pao treatment significantly suppressed tumor growth by 70-72%, and by 78% when combined with Gemcitabine.
The tropical shrub, Rauwolfia vomitoria, is a medicinal plant used traditionally to treat a variety of ailments. A bioactive ß-carboline alkaloid, alstonine, present in this extract was previously shown to have anti-cancer activity against cancer cell lines. This study considers the potential anti-prostate cancer activity of this extract in vitro and in vivo. Rauwolfia vomitoria extract standardized for ß-carboline alkaloids was tested for ability to influence the growth and survival of the human LNCaP prostate cancer cell line. A WST-1 assay was used to measure cell growth, and cell cycle analyses were conducted with flow cytometry. Western blot detection of PARP cleavage and accumulation of cells containing subgenomic DNA indicated induction of apoptosis. Pathway specific microarray analyses were utilized to identify the effect of Rauwolfia extract on the expression of 225 genes. Mice xenografted with LNCaP cells were treated with the extract or placebo control, and tumor growth was measured for 5 weeks.
