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Ruta 6 selectively induces cell death
in brain cancer cells but proliferation in normal peripheral blood
lymphocytes: A novel treatment for human brain cancer
Sen
Pathak, Asha S. Multani, Pratip Banerji and Prasanta Banerji
Departments of 1Cancer Biology [S.P., A.S.M.] and 2Laboratory Medicine
[S.P.], The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston,
TX 77030, USA; 3PBH Research Foundation, 10/3/1 Elgin Road, Kolkata
700 020, West Bengal, India [Pratip B, Prasanta B].
Correspondence to: Professor S. Pathak, Department of Molecular
Genetics, Box 011, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe
Boulevard, Houston, TX 77030, USA E-mail: pathak_sen@yahoo.com.
Received April 16, 2003; Accepted May 28, 2003.
Although conventional chemotherapies
are used to treat patients with malignancies, damage to normal cells
is problematic.
Blood-forming bone marrow cells are the
most adversely affected.
It is therefore necessary to find
alternative agents that can kill cancer cells but have minimal effects
on normal cells.
We investigated the brain cancer
cell-killing activity of a homeopathic medicine, Ruta, isolated from a
plant, Ruta graveolens.
We treated human brain cancer and HL-60
leukemia cells, normal B-lymphoid cells, and murine melanoma cells in
vitro with different concentrations of Ruta in combination with
Ca3(PO4)2.
Fifteen patients diagnosed with
intracranial tumors were treated with Ruta 6 and Ca3(PO4)2.
Of these 15 patients, 6 of the 7 glioma
patients showed complete regression of tumors.
Normal human blood lymphocytes, B-lymphoid
cells, and brain cancer cells treated with Ruta in vitro were examined
for telomere dynamics, mitotic catastrophe, and apoptosis to
understand the possible mechanism of cell-killing, using conventional
and molecular cytogenetic techniques.
Both in vivo and in vitro results showed
induction of survival-signaling pathways in normal lymphocytes and
induction of death-signaling pathways in brain cancer cells.
Cancer cell death was initiated by
telomere erosion and completed through mitotic catastrophe
events.
We propose that Ruta in combination with
Ca3(PO4)2 could be used for effective treatment of brain cancers,
particularly glioma.
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