Description
Pancragen is the synthetic tetrapeptide Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp (KEDW), which its St. Petersburg developers assign to pancreatic function and have studied for effects on pancreatic differentiation factors in cultured cells and on glucose tolerance in old rhesus monkeys. Pure Peptides Canada supplies it as a lyophilized research reagent in 20 mg vials, with an independent Janoshik HPLC and mass-spectrometry report, CAD pricing and tracked shipping from inside Canada.
Pancragen at a glance
- What it is: L-lysyl-L-glutamyl-L-aspartyl-L-tryptophan (KEDW), a synthetic tetrapeptide from Vladimir Khavinson’s bioregulator programme.
- What researchers study: pancreatic differentiation factors such as PDX1, NGN3 and PAX6 in passaged pancreatic cell cultures, glucose clearance and insulin dynamics in old monkeys, and modelled binding of KEDW to DNA.
- Evidence level: cell culture, molecular modelling and one primate study, all from the developers’ network, with much of the cell work done on the C-terminal amide rather than the free acid. We found no peer-reviewed randomized controlled trial in people.
- Supplied as: sealed lyophilized powder, 20 mg, single vial or box of 10.
- Delivery: ships from inside Canada by tracked Xpresspost in 3–7 days ($25 CAD), or free in 4–12 days on orders over $299.
Pancragen
Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp · KEDW tetrapeptide · pancreatic bioregulator
- K
- E
- D
- W
Lysine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, tryptophan.
- Length
- 4 amino acids
- Molecular formula
- C26H36N6O9 (free acid)
- Molecular weight
- ≈ 576.6 g/mol
- Family
- Khavinson short-peptide bioregulators
- Form
- Lyophilized powder, sealed vial
- Sizes
- 20 mg (single or box of 10)
- SKU
- PP-PANCRAGEN
Where the evidence stands
- Cell studies
- Animal models
- Controlled human trials
- Approved medicine
Published work comes mainly from the group that developed it. Pancragen is not an approved medicine.
What is Pancragen?
Pancragen is L-lysyl-L-glutamyl-L-aspartyl-L-tryptophan, one of the synthetic peptides made at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. Khavinson’s 2014 overview of the institute’s peptides assigns it to pancreatic function. It belongs to a set of tetrapeptides that share a Lys-Glu-Asp (KED) start and differ only in the last residue: Livagen (KEDA), Testagen (KEDG), Prostamax (KEDP) and Pancragen (KEDW), while Vesugen is the KED tripeptide itself.
Tryptophan, a bulky aromatic residue, sets Pancragen apart from the other members of that set, whose final residues are small or, in the case of proline, cyclic. Its nearest catalogue neighbour by structure is Livagen, but the two have separate literatures: Livagen work centres on chromatin in lymphocytes, Pancragen work on pancreatic differentiation markers. In one cell study the group used Bronchogen (Ala-Glu-Asp-Leu) as a comparison peptide, and it had little effect on the same markers.
Two cautions apply to the whole literature. Two of the main cell studies used the C-terminal amide, KEDW-NH₂, which is a different molecule from the free acid supplied here, and two used MIA PaCa-2 cells, a line derived from a pancreatic carcinoma, aged by repeated passaging. All of the work comes from the developers’ network, and the primate study was published in Russian.
What published studies report
- Aged pancreatic cell cultures: Khavinson and colleagues (Advances in Gerontology, 2013) added KEDW-NH₂ to aged human pancreatic cell cultures and reported higher expression of MMP2, MMP9, serotonin, CD79α, Mcl-1, PCNA and Ki67 and lower expression of the pro-apoptotic protein p53.
- Differentiation factors by passage: in MIA PaCa-2 cells compared at passage 1 and passage 14, staining for Ptf1a, Pdx1, Pax6, Foxa2 and Nkx2.2 was higher with Pancragen in the aged cultures, with Ptf1a about six times the aged-control level, while Bronchogen had little effect (Khavinson and colleagues, Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine, 2013). The readout was immunocytochemistry only.
- Gene expression and DNA binding: using KEDW-NH₂ in passage-14 cultures derived from MIA PaCa-2, a 2015 study reported higher NGN3 (about 2.7-fold), PAX6, PDX1, NKX2-2 and NKX6.1 mRNA and lower HOXA3 and MNX1 mRNA; spectroscopy and docking were read as binding in the DNA major groove (Khavinson and colleagues, American Journal of Biomedical Sciences, 2015).
- Old rhesus monkeys: Goncharova and colleagues (Uspekhi Gerontologii, 2014, in Russian) compared old and young female rhesus monkeys. Old animals cleared a glucose load more slowly and had higher insulin and C-peptide peaks; after the animals received Pancragen, glucose clearance rose and the insulin and C-peptide responses moved toward those of young animals, with part of the change still present three weeks later. The abstract does not give group sizes.
- Competing DNA models: the group’s modelling papers proposed different binding sites for KEDW: GGCAG in 2014 (Tarnovskaya and colleagues) and ACCT in 2015 and 2016. The 2016 docking study predicted that KEDW binds ACCT about three times more strongly than AED.
Reported in studies
- Higher islet and acinar differentiation factors in passaged pancreatic cells
- Lower p53 and higher proliferation markers in aged cultures
- Changed glucose clearance and insulin dynamics in old female monkeys
- Modelled DNA binding in the major groove
Not established
- That the free acid behaves like the amide used in key cell studies
- That results in a carcinoma-derived line reflect normal pancreatic tissue
- A single, agreed DNA binding site
- Replication outside the developers’ network, or any randomized human trial
Pancragen is the only member of the KED set that contains tryptophan, a residue prone to oxidation, so it is worth keeping the sealed vial cold, dry and away from light.
Regulatory status: Pancragen is not an authorized drug in Canada. We sell it strictly as a laboratory reagent for in-vitro research.
Why researchers order Pancragen from Pure Peptides Canada
Add a 20 mg vial or a box of 10 above. Orders over $299 ship free across Canada.
See lab resultsPancragen FAQ
Where can I buy Pancragen in Canada?
Pure Peptides Canada stocks Pancragen as a lyophilized research reagent in 20 mg vials and ships it from inside Canada by tracked Xpresspost in 3–7 days ($25 CAD), or free in 4–12 days on orders over $299.
What does the published research on Pancragen cover?
Cell studies of differentiation and ageing markers in pancreatic cultures, including passaged MIA PaCa-2 cells, molecular-modelling papers on DNA binding, and one study of glucose tolerance in old female rhesus monkeys, all from the developers’ research network. We found no peer-reviewed randomized controlled trial in people.
Did the studies use the same form of Pancragen sold here?
Not always. Two of the main cell studies used the C-terminal amide, KEDW-NH₂, whereas this reagent is the free acid. Results for one form should not be assumed to apply to the other.
How is Pancragen related to Livagen, Testagen and Prostamax?
All four are tetrapeptides that begin Lys-Glu-Asp and differ only in the final residue: tryptophan for Pancragen, alanine for Livagen, glycine for Testagen and proline for Prostamax.
Can Pancragen be used in people or animals?
No. This product is for in-vitro laboratory research only and is not a drug, supplement or food. We do not provide dosing or administration information.
References
- Khavinson VKh, Sevostyanova NN, Durnova AO, Linkova NS, Tarnovskaya SI, Dudkov AV, Kvetnaya TV. Tetrapeptide stimulates functional activity of pancreatic cells in aging. Adv Gerontol. 2013;3(3):220–224. DOI
- Khavinson VKh, Durnova AO, Polyakova VO, Tolibova GH, Linkova NS, Kvetnoy IM, Kvetnaia TV, Tarnovskaya SI. Effects of Pancragen on the differentiation of pancreatic cells during their ageing. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2013;154(4):501–504. DOI
- Khavinson VKh, Tendler SM, Kasyanenko NA, Tarnovskaya SI, Linkova NS, Ashapkin VV, Yakutseni PP, Vanyushin BF. Tetrapeptide KEDW interacts with DNA and regulates gene expression. Am J Biomed Sci. 2015;7(3):156–169. DOI
- Tarnovskaya SI, Yakutseni PP, Khavinson VKh. Study of interactions between DNA and tetrapeptides. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2014;156(5):689–693. DOI
- Khavinson VKh, Lin’kova NS, Tarnovskaya SI. Short peptides regulate gene expression. Bull Exp Biol Med. 2016;162(2):288–292. DOI
- Khavinson VKh. Peptides, genome, aging. Adv Gerontol. 2014;4(4):337–345. DOI
- Goncharova ND, Ivanova LG, Oganian TE, Vengerin AA, Khavinson VKh. Impact of tetrapeptide pancragen on endocrine function of the pancreas in old monkeys [in Russian]. Adv Gerontol. 2014;27(4):662–667. PMID 25946840
For laboratory research use only. Not a drug, supplement, food or cosmetic, not for human or veterinary use, and not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
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