Research

Scientific Publications

Peer-reviewed science, open research initiatives, and the discoveries that form the foundation of the BIONA ecosystem. Our team has spent over a decade proving the science – these publications are the evidence.

Focus Areas

What We're Working On

Three interconnected research pillars – each reinforcing the others – forming the scientific backbone of the BIONA personalized medicine ecosystem.

Apoptomics & Regenerative Medicine

BIONA's team pioneered a new omic science – apoptomics – which studies the RNA-containing apoptotic bodies released by dying cells. These molecular packages carry instructions that activate resident cardiac stem cells, triggering in situ organ regeneration without transplantation or donors. STH-001 is the first therapeutic application of this science.

Precision & Predictive Medicine (3PM)

Research into predictive, precision, and personalized medicine (3PM) protocols for cardiovascular disease. Our team develops diagnostic biomarker panels that detect early signs of myocardial degeneration – enabling intervention at the stage when regeneration is most effective, before irreversible damage occurs.

Decentralized & Open Science

BIONA is building an open research infrastructure: a blockchain-anchored Research Hub where scientists access anonymized patient data (with user consent), publish findings with DOI and ORCID integration, and collaborate across institutions. Token rewards incentivize data contribution and peer validation – creating a community-governed scientific commons.

2023

Evaluation of myocardial regenerative potential in cardiosurgery of middle-aged and elderly patients

Authors: Nemkov A.S., Belostotskaya G.B., Kriventsov A.V., Komok V.V., Bunenkov N.S., Marchenko S.P., Nutfullina G.M., Paramonova N.M., Kostin N.A., Sibarov D.A., Khubulava G.G.Journal: Cellular Therapy and Transplantation

Human clinical proof: regenerative cell-in-cell structures and transitory amplifying cells were confirmed in myocardial biopsies from cardiac surgery patients aged 47 to 80. The heart retains its regenerative potential throughout life – the critical human validation underpinning the STH-001 program.

2021

Intracellular Development of Resident Cardiac Stem Cells: An Overlooked Phenomenon in Myocardial Self-Renewal and Regeneration

Authors: Belostotskaya G., Galagudza M., Sonin D.Journal: Life

Visual and in vivo evidence that cardiac stem cells undergo intracellular development within mature cardiomyocytes in response to myocardial infarction – confirming that the repair mechanism activates in real pathological conditions, not just in laboratory models.

2020

Apoptotic Bodies of Cardiomyocytes and Fibroblasts – Regulators of Directed Differentiation of Heart Stem Cells

Authors: Tyukavin A.I., Belostotskaya G.B., Zakharov E.A., Ivkin D.Yu., Rad’ko S.V., Knyazev N.A., Klimenko V.V., Bogdanov A.A., Suchkov S.V.Journal: Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine / Cell Technologies in Biology and Medicine

Establishes the core mechanism of STH-001: apoptotic bodies from cardiomyocytes enhance cardiac stem cell differentiation and contractility, while those from fibroblasts inhibit it. The first precise characterisation of which apoptotic body type drives cardiac regeneration – and the molecular basis for the BIONA drug design.

2018

Two mechanisms of cardiac stem cell-mediated cardiomyogenesis in the adult mammalian heart include formation of colonies and cell-in-cell structures

Authors: Belostotskaya G., Nerubatskaya I., Galagudza M.Journal: Oncotarget

Demonstrates that heart muscle renewal is driven by two distinct mechanisms: classical colony formation and the novel intracellular development of cell-in-cell structures (CICSs) within mature cardiomyocytes. Resolves a longstanding debate in cardiac biology and maps the two pathways available for therapeutic targeting.

2015

Identification of cardiac stem cells within mature cardiac myocytes

Authors: Belostotskaya G.B., Nevorotin A., Galagudza M.M.Journal: Cell Cycle

The foundational discovery: resident cardiac stem cells develop inside mature cardiomyocytes, forming cell-in-cell structures that release transient amplifying cells capable of regenerating heart muscle. The paper that started the BIONA research program.

2015

Stimulation of Proliferation and Differentiation of Rat Resident Myocardial Cells with Apoptotic Bodies of Cardiomyocytes

Authors: Tyukavin A.I., Belostotskaya G.B., Golovanova T.A., Galagudza M.M., Zakharov E.A., Burkova N.V., Ivkin D.Yu., Karpov A.A.Journal: Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine

First in vivo proof of concept: rats treated with cardiomyocyte-derived apoptotic bodies showed improved myocardial contractile function, confirming that apoptotic bodies stimulate stem cell proliferation and differentiation. The preclinical basis for the STH-001 therapeutic hypothesis.

2014

Characterization of contracting cardiomyocyte colonies in the primary culture of neonatal rat myocardial cells: A model of in vitro cardiomyogenesis

Authors: Belostotskaya G.B., Golovanova T.A.Journal: Cell Cycle

Introduces the in vitro model used to study cardiomyogenesis, providing detailed characterisation of how resident cardiac stem cells form contracting cardiomyocyte colonies. The methodological foundation for subsequent mechanistic research.

Ready to Dive Deeper?

Download the whitepaper, connect your wallet, and join the BIONA ecosystem today.

Download Whitepaper Learn About Tokenomics