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Peptide Identity And Research Origin — Background and Details

By Editorial Desk · published 2025-11-19 · last reviewed 2025-12-10 · Faq

epitalon raises a handful of sensible questions. This page answers them in order, starting with the fundamentals and moving to applications.

This page was last updated on 2025-12-10 and is reviewed periodically as new material appears.

Peptide Identity and Research Origin

Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide with the sequence alanine–glutamate–aspartate–glycine, commonly abbreviated AEDG. Its design traces to epithalamin, a peptide fraction prepared from bovine pineal gland extracts that researchers in Saint Petersburg began investigating in the 1970s. The compound has a molecular formula of C14H22N4O9 and a nominal molecular mass near 390 daltons. It holds no approved drug status in the United States or the European Union, and material sold under this name is generally offered as a research chemical rather than a finished pharmaceutical product.

Proposed mechanisms centre on cell-culture observations rather than a defined receptor interaction. Several reports describe increased expression of the telomerase catalytic subunit after exposure of cultured human cells, and the authors attributed the effect to short peptide fragments entering the nucleus and influencing gene transcription. No receptor for the tetrapeptide has been identified, and the free peptide is expected to be degraded rapidly by plasma peptidases. Whether any measurable fraction reaches intact tissues after administration remains an unresolved question rather than an established finding.

The published literature is dominated by a small number of research groups, much of it in Russian-language journals, and independent replication outside those groups is limited. Studies are typically small, use cultured cells or rodent models, and report endpoints that differ between papers, which makes comparison difficult. Large randomised human trials have not appeared in the indexed literature. Questions about absorption, distribution and clearance are therefore still treated as open in reviews that mention the compound.

Epitalon Background and Discovery

The peptide emerged from research carried out in Saint Petersburg from the late 1980s onward, where investigators searched for shorter active fragments of a pineal preparation known as epithalamin. The name epitalon was chosen to reflect that parent extract. Early reports described effects on neuroendocrine markers and on the lifespan of laboratory animals. Much of that work appeared in Russian-language journals, with English translations following later, which affects how readily the original protocols can be assessed by outside groups.

Published studies on epitalon are dominated by a small number of research groups, and independent replication in other laboratories remains limited. Proposed mechanisms include activation of telomerase and modulation of melatonin rhythms, but the evidence for either rests mainly on cell cultures and animal models. Whether the peptide produces comparable effects in humans is an open question, and the absence of large controlled trials means the literature is best read as exploratory rather than settled.

Epitalon is a synthetic four-amino-acid peptide with the sequence alanine-glutamate-aspartate-glycine, commonly abbreviated AEDG. Its molecular formula is C14H22N4O9, and its calculated molar mass is approximately 390.35 grams per mole. The compound is a short fragment related to a peptide fraction isolated from bovine pineal gland extracts, and it is normally supplied as a lyophilised powder intended for laboratory research. It is not a registered pharmaceutical product in most countries.

Epitalon at a glance

PropertyValueNotes
Molecular formulaC14H22N4O9Synthetic tetrapeptide, four residues
Nominal massApproximately 390 DaFree peptide; salt forms differ
AppearanceWhite to off-white powderCommonly supplied lyophilised
Solubility classFreely soluble in waterAlso dissolves in aqueous buffer
Typical storage−20 °C, desiccatedCold packs used during transport

Structure, Naming and Discovery

Residue composition is the property that most cleanly separates verified material from mislabelled samples. Alanine, glutamate, aspartate and glycine appear in that order from the N-terminus, and the two acidic residues sit in the middle of the chain. Because the peptide is short, it can be produced by solid-phase synthesis and characterised by mass spectrometry without ambiguity. Any reported sample whose measured mass departs substantially from 390 daltons is a different compound or a degraded mixture rather than epitalon.

Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide whose four residues are alanine, glutamate, aspartate and glycine, commonly abbreviated AEDG. Its molecular formula is C14H22N4O9 and its monoisotopic mass is near 390.35 daltons. The peptide carries two acidic side chains, so it is neutral to negatively charged in most aqueous buffers. Published reference summaries usually list it under both spellings, epitalon and epithalon, and treat the two names as the same material.

The compound is generally described as a synthetic analogue of a fragment isolated from a pineal gland extract. Researchers associated with the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology introduced it during the 1980s and 1990s while studying short peptides from animal tissue. The original extract, called epithalamin, is a heterogeneous mixture, whereas epitalon is a single defined sequence. That distinction matters because findings reported for the extract are not automatically findings about the pure tetrapeptide, and claims about broader biological effects remain a separate question from the chemical identity described here.

Related pages on this site

Epitalon Background And Identification

Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide with the residue sequence alanine-glutamate-aspartate-glycine, commonly abbreviated AEDG. Its monoisotopic mass is approximately 390.35 daltons, and it is usually supplied as a lyophilised trifluoroacetate or acetate salt. The compound was derived from a pineal gland extract called epithalamin, a heterogeneous preparation investigated in the former Soviet Union. Researchers associated with the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology described the tetrapeptide as a constituent fragment of that extract. Commercial material is offered as a laboratory reagent rather than as a finished pharmaceutical product.

Literature searches for this compound must account for several spelling variants. Indexing databases contain epitalon, epithalon, epithalone, and AEDG, and relevant records are scattered across Russian-language and English-language journals that do not consistently cross-cite. Early publications describe the parent extract as a mixture of many peptides, whereas later work addresses the single synthetic tetrapeptide. That shift in nomenclature complicates comparison between studies, because extract data and tetrapeptide data are sometimes cited interchangeably. A search strategy omitting the alternate spellings will return an incomplete set of references.

Further detail

Ein nationales Supercomputer-Zentrum wurde verwendet, um mehr als 2,5 Petabyte an öffentlich zugänglichen Daten des Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) zu analysieren, um damit mehr als 900.000 Überlebensdiagrammen zu erzeugen, die die Auswirkungen von RNA- und Proteinleveln auf das klinische Überleben beschreiben. Der Pathologie-Atlas enthält außerdem 5 Millionen pathologische Bilder, die vom Human Protein Atlas-Konsortium erstellt wurden. Der Gehirnatlas untersucht die Proteinexpression im Gehirn von Säugetieren durch Visualisierung und Integration von Daten aus drei Säugetierarten (Mensch, Schwein und Maus). Dazu werden Transkriptomik-Daten sowie Antikörper-basierte Färbungen verwendet, um das Proteom bis ins Detail einer einzelnen Zelle zu untersuchen. Der Blutatlas enthält RNA-Expressionsprofile für verschiedene Leukozyten (B- und T-Zellen, Monozyten, Granulozyten und dendritische Zellen). Insgesamt werden 18 Zelltypen abgedeckt, die durch Zellsortierung und anschließende RNA-Sequenzanalyse isoliert wurden. Der Metabolismus-Atlas ermöglicht zusammen mit dem Gewebeatlas die Erforschung der Proteinfunktion und der gewebespezifischen Genexpression im Kontext des menschlichen Stoffwechselnetzwerks.

== Geschichte == Das Human-Protein-Atlas-Programm startete in 2003 und wird von Beginn an durch die gemeinnützige Knut-und-Alice-Wallenberg Stiftung (KAW) gefördert. Der wichtigste Standort des Projekts ist die Königliche Technische Hochschule (KTH) in Stockholm. Die Grundlagen zu dem Programm wurden in den späten 1990er und frühen 2000er Jahren gelegt. Eine Pilotstudie untersuchte den Erfolg einer Affinitäts-Proteomik-Strategie, bei der Antikörpern gegen rekombinante humane Proteinfragmente verwendet wurden, um damit eine chromosomen-weite Proteincharakterisierung von Chromosom 21 durchzuführen.

== Forschung == Die Antikörper und Antigene, die im Rahmen des HPA Programms entstanden sind, werden in einer Vielzahl von Forschungsprojekten eingesetzt. Dabei wird ihr Nutzen im Hinblick auf mögliche Biomarker für verschiedene Krebserkrankungen untersucht.

Hyperchromasie (Zusammensetzung aus griech. hyper ‚über‘ und chroma ‚Farbe‘) ist ein Begriff aus der Zellbiologie und Histologie und bezeichnet eine verstärkte Anfärbbarkeit von Zellstrukturen, insbesondere des Zellkerns (Kernhyperchromasie), durch Farbstoffe. Sie ist unter anderem ein Merkmal vieler Tumorzellen (Atypie) bei der zytodiagnostischen Beurteilung, wird aber auch in anderen Zusammenhängen (z. B. entzündlichen Erkrankungen) beobachtet.

Sources: de.wikipedia.org

Frequently asked questions

Is epitalon the same as epithalamin?

No. Epithalamin is a heterogeneous peptide fraction obtained from pineal gland extract and contains many components. Epitalon is a single synthetic tetrapeptide with the sequence Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly. Researchers synthesised the shorter peptide while attempting to identify active sequences within the extract.

Does epitalon occur naturally in the human body?

No endogenous peptide with this exact sequence has been described as a circulating hormone or signalling molecule. The tetrapeptide was designed as a synthetic analogue based on fragments observed in pineal preparations. Any activity discussed in the literature therefore refers to administered material rather than to a natural pool of the compound.

What regulatory category does epitalon fall into?

It is not an approved medicine in major jurisdictions and does not appear in the major pharmacopoeias. Material is usually distributed as a research chemical or laboratory reagent. Such labelling places handling responsibility on the purchaser and does not indicate that a regulatory body has reviewed the substance.

What is epitalon made of?

It is a synthetic tetrapeptide built from alanine, glutamate, aspartate and glycine. The four residues are joined by standard peptide bonds, giving a linear chain rather than a branched structure.

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