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Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide analogue of a fragment of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), modified at its C-terminus with a Pro-Gly-Pro tripeptide to resist enzymatic degradation. Laboratory studies use it to examine neurotrophin signalling, gene expression in brain tissue and the pharmacology of melanocortin-derived peptides in cell culture and rodent models. Its sequence is short, but…

Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide derived from tuftsin, a natural tetrapeptide fragment of immunoglobulin G, extended at its C-terminus with a Pro-Gly-Pro sequence to resist enzymatic breakdown. Laboratory studies use it to examine gene expression, neurotransmitter-system signalling and cytokine regulation in cell culture and rodent models. It is a small, highly basic peptide, so its…

DSIP, short for delta sleep-inducing peptide, is a naturally occurring nonapeptide first reported in the 1970s from rabbit brain blood. It is studied in cell culture and animal models as a case of a small neuropeptide whose function and receptor remain unresolved, and as a test case for the handling of acidic, protease-sensitive peptides. Its…

Cerebrolysin is not a single peptide. It is a standardised mixture of low-molecular-weight peptides and free amino acids prepared by enzymatic breakdown of proteins from pig brain, and it is marketed as a branded pharmaceutical in a number of countries. In laboratory studies it is examined for reported neurotrophic-like signalling in neuronal cultures and rodent…

MOTS-c is a 16-amino-acid peptide encoded within the mitochondrial genome, in a short open reading frame of the 12S ribosomal RNA gene. Laboratory studies use it to examine mitochondrial-to-nuclear signalling, cellular metabolic stress responses and AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) pathways in cell culture and animal models. As one of the first characterised mitochondrial-derived peptides, it…

Thymosin-alpha-1 is a naturally occurring 28-amino-acid peptide, first isolated from calf thymus tissue, that is studied in cell culture and animal models for its interactions with Toll-like receptors and its effects on dendritic cells and T-cell signalling. Because it has a documented sequence, a defined mass and a pharmaceutical counterpart in some jurisdictions, it is…

VIP, or vasoactive intestinal peptide, is a naturally occurring 28-amino-acid neuropeptide that acts on the VPAC1 and VPAC2 receptors and is widely distributed in the nervous system, gut and immune tissues. Laboratory studies use the VIP peptide to examine class B G protein-coupled receptor signalling, cyclic AMP pathways, neuropeptide biology and immune-cell cytokine regulation in…

AICAR, or 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide ribonucleoside, is a cell-permeable adenosine analogue used in the laboratory as an activator of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), the cellular energy sensor. Once inside a cell it is phosphorylated to a compound that mimics adenosine monophosphate, which allows researchers to switch on AMPK signalling without disturbing the cell's actual energy balance. AICAR…

LL37 is the 37-amino-acid, C-terminal fragment of human cathelicidin antimicrobial protein (hCAP18), and it is the only cathelicidin-derived peptide identified in humans. It is studied in cell culture and animal models for its membrane-disrupting action on microbes, its binding of bacterial lipopolysaccharide and its signalling effects on immune and epithelial cells. Because it is cationic,…

TB-500 is the name used in the research supply market for a synthetic peptide derived from thymosin beta-4, a 43-residue actin-binding protein found in most mammalian cells. Laboratory studies of thymosin beta-4 and its fragments examine actin dynamics, cell migration and tissue-repair signalling in cell culture and animal models. Because the name TB-500 is applied…

BPC 157 is a synthetic pentadecapeptide, a chain of 15 amino acids, that is studied in cell culture and rodent models for its reported influence on angiogenic signalling, tendon fibroblast behaviour and experimental tissue injury. It has no single confirmed receptor, and most of its literature comes from one research network, so the quality and…

Ipamorelin is a synthetic pentapeptide that acts as an agonist at the growth hormone secretagogue receptor type 1a (GHS-R1a), the receptor for the endogenous peptide ghrelin. Laboratory studies use it to examine ghrelin receptor signalling and the regulation of growth hormone secretion in cultured pituitary cells and animal models, and it is notable for having…