Prostamax

Prostamax is indexed as a synthetic tetrapeptide, Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro, abbreviated KEDP. PubChem carries it as CID 9848296 with the molecular formula C20H33N5O9, a molecular weight of 487.5 g/mol and CAS number 473578-47-1. Unusually for this series, both the trade name and a resolving CAS number appear in the public record. Published work uses both labels, the trade name in reports from 2004 onward and the sequence Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro in a 2012 paper from the same circle of authors (PubMed 23221144). Research-grade material is supplied as a lyophilized (freeze-dried) solid.

Two points of care follow. The name is a commercial designation from a programme that named its compounds after tissues, and it says nothing about what the molecule does. Material is also sold under this name as a tissue-derived peptide complex rather than a single sequence, which is a different kind of substance entirely, so the Certificate of Analysis rather than the label should establish what is in a given vial.

The programme began in the 1970s with polypeptide fractions from animal organs, then moved to short synthetic sequences said to reproduce their activity. Prostamax enters PubMed-indexed literature in 2004 through a group in Tbilisi working on chromatin in cultured lymphocytes, and later work traces to the same collaboration.

Four reports make up the compound-specific record. A 2004 paper examined heterochromatin in human lymphocytes exposed to the peptide (PubMed 15612551), and a companion study from the originating group looked at lymphocyte chromatin in samples from elderly donors (PubMed 15085253). A 2009 study used microcalorimetry on lymphocyte cultures with copper, cadmium and prostamax present (PubMed 19359734). A 2012 report describes chromatin decondensation attributed to the oligopeptide written out as Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro (PubMed 23221144).

The record is thin and narrow. PubMed returns six items for the name, most from one laboratory, several in journals with limited international indexing, and the samples are small. There is no published human trial, no toxicology package and no replication outside that collaboration.

The programme also reports tissue specificity in organotypic culture, where a peptide from one organ is described as acting preferentially on cells from that organ (PubMed 17152728). The mechanism proposed for this class is transcriptional rather than receptor-mediated. Its authors argue that peptides of two to four residues reach the nucleus, associate with DNA and histone tails, and change how tightly chromatin is packed. The Prostamax reports sit in that frame: their measured endpoint is chromatin condensation in cultured cells (PubMed 15612551; PubMed 23221144).

Proline is the distinction worth knowing. Epitalon and Testagen end in glycine, the smallest and most flexible residue; Prostamax ends in proline, whose side chain closes back onto the backbone nitrogen. That removes an amide hydrogen available for hydrogen bonding, restricts rotation about one backbone bond, and gives the C-terminus a fixed geometry the glycine-terminated members do not have. It also puts the molecule 40 Da above Testagen.

The methodology caveat is direct. Scoring heterochromatin under a microscope depends on the observer and on how cells were prepared, and microcalorimetry reports the behaviour of a whole cell preparation, which cannot be assigned to one target. These are observations in cultured cells, not a demonstrated mechanism.

Sealed lyophilized Prostamax is held frozen at -20°C, shielded from light, in its original container. Lyophilized material takes up water from air, so a container reaches ambient temperature before it is opened.

Repeated freeze-thaw cycles are avoided. Stability for a lot is documented on its Certificate of Analysis rather than as a general duration.

Reconstitution means returning a lyophilized compound to solution. No preparation procedure is given here: solvent and concentration belong to a study protocol. Prostamax carries two free carboxyl side chains and a free amine and is handled as aqueous-soluble material.

The proline ring adds rigidity without making the molecule hydrophobic. Solubility and water content for a lot appear on its Certificate of Analysis.

Identity and purity of research-grade Prostamax are established by reverse-phase HPLC and mass spectrometry. Verified purity is documented per lot on the Certificate of Analysis. Because the same trade name is used for both a defined tetrapeptide and undefined peptide complexes, sequence confirmation is the specification that decides which material a vial holds.

Two things shift the observed mass: peptides of this type are often supplied as salts, and counter-ion content changes what a balance reports. Small, very polar peptides also retain poorly on standard reverse-phase columns.

Prostamax belongs to a group of short peptides and preparations from one programme.

• Testagen.
  The tetrapeptide Lys-Glu-Asp-Gly, glycine in place of proline.
• Epitalon.
  The tetrapeptide Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly, the most published compound in the series.
• Cartalax.
  Indexed as the tripeptide Ala-Glu-Asp, the acidic core several members share.
• Cardiogen and Pinealon.
  Further defined sequences, each carrying a basic arginine residue.
• Vilon, Ovagen and Thymalin.
  The dipeptide Lys-Glu, a compound with no settled sequence, and the preparation that preceded the synthetics.

Khavinson VKh, Lezhava TA, Malinin VV (2004). Effects of short peptides on lymphocyte chromatin in senile subjects. Bull Exp Biol Med.
PubMed 15085253

Meskhi T, Khachidze D, Barbakadze Sh, et al. (2004). [The influence of the peptide bioregulator prostamax on heterochromatin of human lymphocytes in situ]. Biofizika.
PubMed 15612551

Zakutskiĭ AN, Chalisova NI, Ryzhak GA, et al. (2006). [The tissue-specific effect of synthetic peptides-biologic regulators in organotypic tissues culture in young and old rats]. Adv Gerontol.
PubMed 17152728

Kiladze M, Gorgoshidze M, Monaselidze J, et al. (2009). Microcalorimetric study of human blood lymphocytes culture at presence of copper, cadmium and prostamax. Georgian Med News.
PubMed 19359734

Dzhokhadze TA, Buadze TZh, Gaĭozishvili MN, et al. (2012). [Deheterochromatinization of the chromatin in old age induced by oligopeptide bioregulator (Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro)]. Georgian Med News.
PubMed 23221144

Prostamax is stocked in one format: a sealed lyophilized vial from a single supplier brand, listed at a 20mg fill. The per-vial strength is a product specification. Each lot is batch tested with a published Certificate of Analysis documenting verified purity and identity, where the sequence for a given vial should be read.

• Browse all Prostamax research products
• Verified Peptides Prostamax, 20mg lyophilized vial

These products are sold for Research Use Only and are not intended for human consumption.