Epithalon 10 mg

Epithalon 10 mg research-grade lyophilized peptide powder in a glass vial. Epithalon (Epitalon, AEDG) is a synthetic tetrapeptide Ala–Glu–Asp–Gly that mimics the endogenous pineal peptide Epithalamin and is studied in models of pineal gland function, telomerase activity and cellular aging.

Research Overview

Epithalon (Epitalon, AEDG) is a synthetic tetrapeptide derivative of the pineal extract Epithalamin. In gerontology and cellular biology research it is used as a tool compound to study telomerase regulation, telomere maintenance and pineal gland–driven neuroendocrine signaling in aging models.

Primary Research Areas

• Telomerase & telomere maintenance: models investigating telomerase activity, telomere length dynamics and chromosomal stability in aging cells [1].
• Pineal gland & melatonin regulation: studies of pineal peptides, melatonin secretion patterns and neuroendocrine control of circadian biology [2].
• Circadian rhythm & clock-gene research: experimental systems exploring links between AEDG peptides, circadian timing and cellular clock mechanisms [2].
• Cellular aging & senescence models: in-vitro studies on replicative senescence, stress resistance and age-associated signaling pathways [1].
• Neuroendocrine & stress-response pathways: research into how pineal-derived peptides modulate hypothalamic–pituitary axes and systemic homeostasis [2].
• Bowel tumours in rats: 80 rats were given a bowel carcinogen; those injected with 1 µg of the peptide throughout developed 2.7 colon tumours each against 4.1 in controls, and the tumours were smaller. Tumours in the small bowel fell too. Almost every rat still got cancer, so this slowed it rather than stopped it [3].
• Breast tumours in mice: female mice bred to develop breast cancer were injected with 1 µg for five days a month; they ended up with fewer and smaller tumours than saline controls, and smaller lung deposits. A second peptide tested alongside made cancer worse, so these effects are not shared by all short peptides [4].
• How long mice lived: in cancer-prone mice injected five times a week from two months old until death, average lifespan rose 13.5% and the tumour-free part of life by 34.2%. Mice with no breast tumours at all became 3.7 times commoner. One mouse strain, one laboratory, and nothing comparable in people [5].
• Sight in inherited retinal disease: in rats with a hereditary retinal degeneration the peptide preserved retinal structure and electrical activity, and in patients with degenerative retinal disease the authors report a positive clinical effect in 90% of cases. No patient numbers, no placebo group and no independent replication are given [6].
• Deaths in older heart patients: over 12 years, elderly patients with coronary disease randomised to repeated courses of epithalamine had 28% fewer deaths and half the cardiovascular mortality of controls, with better exercise tolerance. This used the crude pineal extract, not the AEDG tetrapeptide in this vial, and came from the group that developed both [7].
• Chromosome damage in ageing mice: bone-marrow cells of 12-month-old mice showed 18 to 30% fewer chromosome breaks when the peptide had been given from two months of age, across three strains including one that ages fast. Melatonin in drinking water did nothing in the same test. Mice, and the health meaning is unproven [8].

References

1. Khavinson VKh, Bondarev IE, Butyugov AA, et al. Peptide promotes overcoming of the division limit in human somatic cell. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2004;137(5):503-6. PMID 15455129. doi:10.1023/b:bebm.0000038164.49947.8c
2. Goncharova ND, Khavinson BK, Lapin BA. Regulatory effect of Epithalon on production of melatonin and cortisol in old monkeys. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2001;131(4):394-6. PMID 11550036. doi:10.1023/a:1017928925177
3. Anisimov VN, Khavinson VKh, Popovich IG, et al. Inhibitory effect of peptide Epitalon on colon carcinogenesis induced by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine in rats. Cancer Lett. 2002;183(1):1-8. PMID 12049808. doi:10.1016/s0304-3835(02)00090-3
4. Anisimov VN, Khavinson VK, Provinciali M, et al. Inhibitory effect of the peptide epitalon on the development of spontaneous mammary tumors in HER-2/neu transgenic mice. Int J Cancer. 2002;101(1):7-10. PMID 12209581. doi:10.1002/ijc.10570
5. Anisimov VN, Khavinson VKh, Alimova IN, et al. Epithalon decelerates aging and suppresses development of breast adenocarcinomas in transgenic her-2/neu mice. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2002;134(2):187-90. PMID 12459848. doi:10.1023/a:1021104819170
6. Khavinson V, Razumovsky M, Trofimova S, et al. Pineal-regulating tetrapeptide epitalon improves eye retina condition in retinitis pigmentosa. Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2002;23(4):365-8. PMID 12195242.
7. Korkushko OV, Khavinson VKh, Shatilo VB, et al. Geroprotective effect of epithalamine (pineal gland peptide preparation) in elderly subjects with accelerated aging. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2006;142(3):356-9. PMID 17426848. doi:10.1007/s10517-006-0365-z
8. Rosenfeld SV, Togo EF, Mikheev VS, et al. Effect of epithalon on the incidence of chromosome aberrations in senescence-accelerated mice. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2002;133(3):274-6. PMID 12360351. doi:10.1023/a:1015899003974