Peptides›Longevity, Cognitive›Cortagen

Cortagen

/ Khavinson-tradition tetrapeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro); proposed cerebral cortex bioregulator

SPECULATIVEN = 0 · TESTING PENDINGMW 430.40 g·mol⁻¹

ALIAS · AEDP · Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro · Cortical peptide bioregulator · Cortagene

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Research use onlyAny dose figures below describe what specific cited studies used, reported factually. Nothing on this page is guidance for human use.READ FIRST →

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§ A · Identity

Primary sequenceAEDP

MW · 430.40CLASS · Khavinson-tradition tetrapeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro); proposed cerebral cortex bioregulatorCATEGORY · Longevity, Cognitive

Tier 4. Cortagen has the largest indexed Khavinson-tradition primary footprint of the eight compounds in this chunk, including a microarray study of mouse-heart gene expression (Anisimov 2004) and immunology / hemostasis studies in chickens (Kuznik 2008). All indexed work is from the Khavinson group or close collaborators; no Western Phase 1 or later trials.

§ B · Mechanism of action

Cortagen is a synthetic tetrapeptide of the Khavinson sequence-specific bioregulator class, derived by directed synthesis from amino-acid analysis of the Cortexin natural cortex peptide preparation. The class-level mechanistic hypothesis is short-peptide DNA binding and transcriptional modulation; Anisimov 2004 reported that a 5-day cortagen course altered expression of approximately 110 known mouse-heart genes (out of 15,247 transcripts surveyed) on a cDNA microarray, with overlap and divergence relative to other Khavinson peptides (vilon, epitalon) and melatonin. Kuznik 2008 reported that, in contrast to epitalon, cortagen did not normalize anemia, immunity, or hemostasis parameters in neonatally hypophysectomized chickens — a methodologically informative negative result within the Khavinson peptide-comparison framework.

§ C · Human clinical evidence

Tier 4. Indexed evidence is mouse, chicken, and cell-culture preclinical data from the Khavinson group and close collaborators. No Phase 1 or later human trials of cortagen are indexed in PubMed; Russian-language reports of cortagen use in posttraumatic peripheral nerve recovery are referenced in the Anisimov 2004 introduction but are not directly accessible as English-language primary trials.

§ D · Primary literature

PubMed15159690Anisimov SV et al. — Elucidation of the effect of brain cortex tetrapeptide Cortagen on gene expression in mouse heart by microarray · Neuroendocrinology Letters · rodentA 5-day course of cortagen in 6-month-old female CBA mice altered cardiac expression of approximately 110 known genes (1.53% of 15,247 transcripts surveyed) on cDNA microarray, with overlap and divergence relative to Vilon, Epitalon, and melatonin profiles.Limitations: Single rodent cohort; cardiac-tissue endpoint assessed for a peptide proposed to target cerebral cortex; no independent replication.2004

PubMed19432169Kuznik BI et al. — Effects of epithalon and cortagene on immunity and hemostasis in neonatally hypophysectomized chicken and old birds · Advances in Gerontology · other-animalIn neonatally hypophysectomized chickens and aged birds, 40-day epitalon (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly) administration normalized erythrocyte, immune, and hemostatic parameters, while cortagen (Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro), differing by a single C-terminal residue, did not produce the same effects.Limitations: Russian-language journal; avian model; methodologically informative negative result for cortagen in this paradigm; not independently replicated.2008

§ F · Safety signal

No formal human safety database. No peptide-specific safety record beyond animal exposure within Khavinson-group preclinical panels.

§ H · Regulatory status

Regulatory status

FDA status:: Not FDA-approved

§ I · Notable gaps and controversies

Russian-origin literature (Khavinson group, Saint-Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology) without independent Western replication. Even within the Khavinson corpus, cortagen produces a mixed picture — Anisimov 2004 reports broad transcriptional effects in mouse heart, while Kuznik 2008 reports that cortagen failed to reverse the chicken hypophysectomy model phenotypes that epitalon corrected. The tetrapeptide tissue-targeting model has not been validated by independent labs. Vendor sales presume cortical-specific cognitive bioactivity that the published preclinical record does not establish.