Peptide Category: Longevity
Thymulin
What is Thymulin? Thymulin is a 9-amino acid peptide — a nonapeptide — produced exclusively by the epithelial cells of the thymus gland. Its amino acid sequence, pyroGlu-Ala-Lys-Ser-Gln-Gly-Gly-Ser-Asn, is unique among known immunomodulatory peptides in one critical respect: it requires a zinc ion cofactor to assume its biologically active conformation. Without zinc, thymulin is present
N-Acetyl Epitalon
What is N-Acetyl Epitalon? N-Acetyl Epitalon — also written as N-Acetyl Epithalon — is a chemically modified variant of the tetrapeptide Epitalon (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly), produced by adding an acetyl group (-COCH3) to the free alpha-amino group at the peptide’s N-terminus. This acetylation is a deliberate pharmaceutical modification designed to address specific pharmacological limitations of the parent
SS-31
What is SS-31 (Elamipretide)? SS-31, known by its clinical development name elamipretide, is a synthetically manufactured mitochondria-targeted tetrapeptide with the amino acid sequence D-Arg-Dmt-Lys-Phe-NH2 — where Dmt denotes 2′,6′-dimethyltyrosine, a non-standard amino acid modification that contributes to the molecule’s cell membrane permeability and antioxidant properties. It was developed by scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine (the
Humanin
What is Humanin? Humanin is a 24-amino acid microprotein with an origin story unlike any other peptide in this field. It was discovered in 2001 by a Japanese research team led by Nishimoto and colleagues, who were searching for genes expressed in neurons that had somehow survived the neurodegeneration of Alzheimer’s disease. When they screened
Thymalin
What is Thymalin? Thymalin is a polypeptide complex derived from the thymus glands of young calves through a standardized extraction and purification process involving enzymatic hydrolysis under carefully controlled conditions. It is not a single defined peptide sequence but a physiologically characterized mixture of low-molecular-weight polypeptides — predominantly tetrapeptides and shorter fragments — along with
Thymosin Alpha-1
What is Thymosin Alpha-1? Thymosin alpha-1 (Ta1) is a 28-amino acid peptide derived from prothymosin alpha, a protein originally isolated from thymus tissue in the 1970s by Allan Goldstein and colleagues at the National Cancer Institute and later at George Washington University. The thymus gland — a bilobed lymphoid organ positioned anterior to the heart
FOXO4-DRI
What is FOXO4-DRI? FOXO4-DRI is a synthetic senolytic peptide designed to selectively eliminate senescent cells — aged, dysfunctional cells that have permanently exited the cell cycle but stubbornly refuse to die through normal apoptotic mechanisms. The “DRI” in its name stands for D-retro-inverso, a specific structural modification strategy in which the peptide is constructed using
NAD+
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is a coenzyme present in all living cells that serves as an electron carrier in metabolic redox reactions and as a substrate for enzymes including sirtuins, PARP (poly ADP-ribose polymerase), and cyclic ADP-ribose synthases. NAD+ levels decline approximately 50 percent between young adulthood and midlife, a reduction associated with mitochondrial dysfunction,
Epithalon
What is Epithalon (Epitalon)? Epithalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide with the amino acid sequence Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly (alanine-glutamic acid-aspartic acid-glycine) that serves as a laboratory-synthesized analog of epithalamin, a polypeptide extract derived from the pineal gland. Its development emerged from decades of research by Vladimir Khavinson and colleagues at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology,
MOTS-c
What is MOTS-c? MOTS-c is a 16-amino acid peptide encoded not in the nuclear genome — where the vast majority of human protein-coding genes reside — but within the mitochondrial genome itself, specifically within the 12S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene. Its sequence is Tyr-Arg-Trp-Leu-Met-Pro-Arg-Thr-Leu-Val-Leu-Leu-Ala-Ala-Leu-Gly, corresponding to a short open reading frame within the 12S rRNA