Testagen and Prostamax are two short synthetic tetrapeptides from the same Russian bioregulator research program covered generally in bioregulator peptides explained. Both have a much smaller published literature than better-known members of that family such as Epithalon or Thymalin, which is one reason to look at them together rather than stretch either into a full article on its own. Testagen carries the sequence lysine-glutamic acid-aspartic acid-glycine, abbreviated Lys-Glu-Asp-Gly or KEDG, and has been studied mainly in birds and in cultured human cells. Prostamax carries the sequence lysine-glutamic acid-aspartic acid-proline, abbreviated Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro or KEDP, and has been studied mainly in rat organ tissue culture and in human lymphocyte chromatin research. This article covers what has actually been published on each sequence.
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Testagen sequence | Lys-Glu-Asp-Gly (KEDG), synthesized on the amino acid composition of anterior pituitary peptide extracts |
| Prostamax sequence | Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro (KEDP), a tetrapeptide bioregulator studied largely in prostate-tissue and chromatin contexts |
| Class | Short peptide bioregulators, tissue-associated in the Khavinson peptide series |
| What studies examine | Nuclear and DNA penetration in cultured cells, thymus and thyroid morphology in hypophysectomized birds, chromatin structure in aging human lymphocytes, organotypic prostate tissue culture |
| Model systems used | HeLa cells, neonatally hypophysectomized chickens and hens, human peripheral blood lymphocytes from elderly subjects, rat organotypic tissue explants |
| Form supplied | Lyophilized powder, research use only |
What is known about how these two peptides interact with cell nuclei and DNA?
A 2011 study labeled several short peptides, including Testagen, with a fluorescent tag and tracked their movement into HeLa cell nuclei, reporting that Testagen and the related peptides penetrated into the cytoplasm, nucleus and nucleolus of these cultured cells. The same experiment measured how each peptide affected the fluorescence of labeled DNA fragments, reporting that Testagen preferentially interacted with DNA sequences containing a specific CAG-type motif, a pattern the authors linked to a possible role for these short peptides in epigenetically influencing gene activity through direct, sequence-selective DNA binding (Fedoreyeva et al., 2011).
What has research examined for Testagen in an intact endocrine-axis model?
Two related studies from a research group at Chita State Medical Academy examined the KEDG sequence, described in these papers as a peptide synthesized on the basis of the amino acid composition of anterior pituitary tissue extracts, in chickens that had undergone hypophysectomy shortly after hatching, a procedure that removes the pituitary gland and disrupts several downstream endocrine axes. One study reported that KEDG administration to hypophysectomized birds of different ages promoted recovery of thymus morphology, with a more pronounced effect than a comparator peptide synthesized from posterior pituitary tissue (Pateyk et al., 2013). A companion study in the same hypophysectomized bird model reported that KEDG administration was associated with a reduction in the hormonal and structural thyroid gland disturbances that followed hypophysectomy in both young chickens and old hens, though the normalizing effect on thyroid hormone measures was less pronounced in the older birds (Kuznik et al., 2011).
What has research examined for Prostamax in chromatin structure?
Several studies from a research group working with elderly human subjects examined Prostamax's effect on chromatin organization in peripheral blood lymphocytes. One study measured sister chromatid exchange frequency and nucleolar organizer region activity in lymphocytes from subjects aged 75 to 86, reporting that Prostamax exposure increased both measures and reduced the frequency of large pericentromeric heterochromatin segments on two specific chromosomes, a pattern the authors described as chromatin decondensation, or deheterochromatinization, that could release genes otherwise repressed by age-related chromatin condensation (Dzhokhadze et al., 2012). An earlier study from a related research group tested five short peptides, including Prostamax, on leukocytes from subjects aged 75 to 88 and reported that all five induced activation of ribosome genes and decondensation of densely packed chromatin fibrils, with Prostamax specifically producing decondensation of pericentromeric structural chromatin on one of the chromosomes examined (Khavinson et al., 2004).
What has research examined for Prostamax in tissue culture?
An organotypic tissue culture study used explants from the heart, lungs, prostate gland and pancreas of young and aged rats to test four tissue-associated peptides, including Prostamax, reporting a stimulating effect at a low peptide concentration on the corresponding tissue culture in each case relative to untreated explants across both young and old animals (Zakutskiĭ et al., 2006). This organotypic design, matching each peptide to the tissue it is named for, is characteristic of how this research program has tested tissue-associated bioregulator peptides more broadly.
How do these two peptides relate to other short peptides in the same research program?
Testagen and Prostamax follow the same general design logic as other members of this peptide family: a short synthetic sequence associated with a specific organ, tested first in cell or tissue culture from that organ and then, for some peptides, in a whole-animal model. Testagen's endocrine-axis work in hypophysectomized birds runs in a different direction from the dipeptide research on Vilon described in what is Vilon, which centers on tumor incidence and lifespan in mice rather than endocrine gland recovery, illustrating how differently two short peptides from the same program can be studied depending on the tissue association they were designed around.
Handling notes
Testagen and Prostamax are each supplied as a lyophilized powder intended for research use. Store per the certificate of analysis and reconstitute using standard bench technique; see peptide research glossary for definitions of identity and purity terms used on that document. Confirm each lot's specifications before use in an assay. Lot-specific specifications for research-grade Testagen and Prostamax are posted on our Testagen lot page and our Prostamax lot page.
Frequently asked questions
What sequences do Testagen and Prostamax contain?
Testagen is a tetrapeptide with the sequence Lys-Glu-Asp-Gly (KEDG). Prostamax is a tetrapeptide with the sequence Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro (KEDP). The two sequences differ only in the fourth amino acid.
What animal models have been used to study Testagen?
Published studies have used neonatally hypophysectomized chickens and hens, examining thymus morphology and thyroid hormonal activity, alongside cultured HeLa cells for DNA-binding and nuclear-penetration experiments.
What models have been used to study Prostamax?
Published studies have used peripheral blood lymphocytes from elderly human subjects, examining chromatin structure and chromosomal markers, and organotypic prostate gland tissue culture from young and aged rats.
Are Testagen and Prostamax the same peptide?
No. They are distinct tetrapeptides that differ in their fourth amino acid, Gly for Testagen and Pro for Prostamax, and they have been studied in different model systems and tissue contexts.
Have Testagen or Prostamax been studied in humans directly?
Prostamax has been examined in blood lymphocytes drawn from elderly human subjects and studied outside the body in the laboratory. Testagen's published literature consists of bird and cultured-cell studies. Neither compound's literature describes a protocol for use in any subject, and nothing here is a claim of clinical effect.
How are Testagen and Prostamax supplied for laboratory use?
Each is supplied as a lyophilized powder intended for research use only, sold by lot with an accompanying certificate of analysis.
References
- Fedoreyeva LI, Kireev II, Khavinson VKh, Vanyushin BF. Penetration of short fluorescence-labeled peptides into the nucleus in HeLa cells and in vitro specific interaction of the peptides with deoxyribooligonucleotides and DNA. Biochemistry (Mosc). 2011;76(11):1210-1219. PubMed 22117547.
- Pateyk AV, Baranchugova LM, Rusaeva NS, Obydenko VI, Kuznik BI. Effect of peptides Lys-Glu-Asp-Gly and Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly on the morphology of the thymus in hypophysectomized young and old birds. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2013;154(5):681-685. PubMed 23658898.
- Kuznik BI, Pateyuk AV, Rusaeva NS, Baranchugova LM, Obydenko VI. Effects of peptides Lys-Glu-Asp-Gly and Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly on hormonal activity and structure of the thyroid gland in hypophysectomized young chickens and old hens. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2011;150(4):495-499. PubMed 22268052.
- Dzhokhadze TA, Buadze TZh, Gaĭozishvili MN, Baratashvili NA, Lezhava TA. Deheterochromatinization of the chromatin in old age induced by oligopeptide bioregulator (Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro). Georgian Med News. 2012;(212):76-82. PubMed 23221144.
- Khavinson VKh, Lezhava TA, Malinin VV. Effects of short peptides on lymphocyte chromatin in senile subjects. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2004;137(1):78-81. PubMed 15085253.
- Zakutskiĭ AN, Chalisova NI, Ryzhak GA, Aniskina AI, Filippov SV, Zeziulin PN. The tissue-specific effect of synthetic peptides-biologic regulators in organotypic tissues culture in young and old rats. Adv Gerontol. 2006;19:93-96. PubMed 17152728.
Research use only. Homegrown Peptides products are for laboratory research and are not for human or animal use. Nothing in this article is medical advice.
