Bronchogen Research: The Ala-Glu-Asp-Leu Tetrapeptide and Its Literature
Bronchogen is a tetrapeptide of the Khavinson short-peptide family with two features worth a reader’s attention: its own primary literature does not agree on its sequence, and it carries the clearest Khavinson-free primary work found anywhere in this family. This is a deliberately short page. The family’s evidence problems are set out in full on the peptide bioregulator overview.
What is Bronchogen?
What is Bronchogen? A synthetic tetrapeptide, given in most sources as Ala-Glu-Asp-Leu (AEDL). It shares the Ala-Glu-Asp core with Epitalon (AEDG), Cortagen (AEDP), Cardiogen (AEDR) and Cartalax (AED), differing only in the fourth residue. Its developers assigned it the designation “bronchoprotector” — their label, not an independent conclusion.
The sequence discrepancy. Two papers with Khavinson as a co-author, published within a year of each other, give different orders. Fedoreyeva et al. (2011, Biochemistry (Mosc), PMID 22117547) writes “bronchogen (Ala-Glu-Asp-Leu)”; Monaselidze et al. (2011, Bull Exp Biol Med, PMID 21240358) is titled “Effect of the peptide bronchogen (Ala-Asp-Glu-Leu) on DNA thermostability”. AEDL is what the majority of sources give, including the group’s own 2022 family review, and it is what this page uses — but a reader tracing this literature should know that a swapped pair of residues sits in the record, and that this is exactly the sort of ambiguity the overview page describes as making the corpus hard to audit.
Reference data
Identity and form only, from the public chemical record for the all-L Ala-Glu-Asp-Leu tetrapeptide (PubChem CID 11690869). No PubChem record carries “Bronchogen” as a listed synonym; the sequence link is made from the primary literature cited below.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Peptide class | Tetrapeptide (4 residues) |
| Sequence | Ala-Glu-Asp-Leu (AEDL) — see the discrepancy note above |
| Molecular formula | C₁₈H₃₀N₄O₉ |
| Molecular weight | ≈ 446.5 g/mol |
| Physical form | Lyophilized powder |
| Storage | Kept cold and dry as supplied; protected from light |
A CAS number for this sequence could not be sourced from an authoritative record and is therefore omitted rather than guessed. No handling quantity, reconstitution procedure or route is given or implied.
What the literature has examined
- Rat obstructive-lung model, without the originating group — Kuzubova et al. (2015, Bull Exp Biol Med, PMID 26468022) modelled chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in rats by 60-day intermittent nitrogen-dioxide exposure and examined bronchial epithelial morphology, secretory IgA, bronchoalveolar cell composition and cytokine profile after a month of tetrapeptide administration. Titova et al. (2017, Ross Fiziol Zh, PMID 30199201, Russian-language) is a companion report. Neither lists a Khavinson-group author, which makes these the nearest thing to independent primary work in the family — though they remain single-laboratory rodent studies.
- Tissue-specificity in cell culture — Khavinson et al. (2012, Bull Exp Biol Med, PMID 22808515) examined CXCL12 and Hoxa3 expression in human embryonic bronchial cells, reporting the effect as specific to bronchial rather than pancreatic or prostatic culture.
- DNA binding and thermostability — Fedoreyeva et al. (2011, PMID 22117547) reported preferential binding of AEDL to CNG-containing oligonucleotides in a fluorescence-quenching assay; Monaselidze et al. (2011, PMID 21240358) reported by differential scanning microcalorimetry that the peptide raised the melting temperature of calf-thymus and mouse-liver DNA by 3.1 °C in a narrow molar-ratio range, and described the binding as non-sequence-specific — neither AT- nor GC-selective.
- Plant model — Fedoreyeva et al. (2017, Biochemistry (Mosc), PMID 28371610) examined growth and CLE, KNOX1 and GRF gene expression in tobacco callus culture. It is cited here as evidence that these peptides modulate transcription in a system with no mammalian receptors at all, which is interesting for the mechanism question and is not a claim about anything in an animal.
Evidence status — what is not established
Two things sit uneasily together in this record. The DNA work reports both sequence-selective binding (Fedoreyeva) and explicitly non-selective binding (Monaselidze) for the same peptide, using different methods. That is not a contradiction that has been resolved in the literature, and it matters, because sequence selectivity is the whole basis of the family’s gene-regulation hypothesis.
What is not established: any human evidence — no clinical study of Bronchogen was located in indexed sources; the “bronchoprotector” designation, which is the developers’ label; and the compound’s sequence to the standard one would expect, given the discrepancy above. The rodent work is real and is the family’s best claim to independence, but it is two papers from one laboratory in an induced-pathology model. Nothing on this page is a claim about what this compound does in a person.
How to verify this compound yourself
Given the sequence ambiguity, mass spectrometry alone is not sufficient here — AEDL and ADEL are isomers with identical mass, so a mass measurement cannot distinguish them. A supplier certificate should state the sequence it is certifying; where sequence order matters, tandem MS or amino-acid sequencing is the method that resolves it. Mass spec does still separate AEDL (≈ 446 Da) from its close relatives Cortagen (AEDP, ≈ 430 Da) and Cardiogen (AEDR, ≈ 490 Da). HPLC purity is reported as a percentage. See how to read a COA and how to verify peptide purity, and check a specific batch on the verify tool.
Research-grade sourcing and verification
Bronchogen is not held in stock. It is listed on our sourcing catalogue as available to order — our supplier lists it, we have not bought it, and material of this kind typically takes about two to three weeks to reach us. For laboratory research use only, it is supplied with a per-batch Certificate of Analysis reporting HPLC purity (%) and mass-spec identity confirmation. Related pages: the bioregulator overview, Cortagen, Cardiogen and Pancragen. This is sourcing and quality-assurance framing only.
Verify a batch
Every order ships with a per-batch Certificate of Analysis. Have a vial in hand? Enter its lot number to look up the COA for that exact batch.
Frequently asked questions
What is Bronchogen?
Is the Bronchogen sequence disputed?
What did the Bronchogen studies actually measure?
Is any of the Bronchogen work independent of the originating group?
Literature cited
- Kuzubova NA, Lebedeva ES, Dvorakovskaya IV, et al. “Modulating Effect of Peptide Therapy on the Morphofunctional State of Bronchial Epithelium in Rats with Obstructive Lung Pathology.” Bull Exp Biol Med. 2015;159(5):685–688. PMID 26468022. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26468022 (no Khavinson-group author).
- Titova ON, Kuzubova NA, Lebedeva ES, et al. “Antiinflammatory and regenerative effect of peptide therapy in the model of obstructive lung pathology.” Ross Fiziol Zh Im I M Sechenova. 2017;103(2):201–208. PMID 30199201. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30199201 (Russian-language; English abstract only).
- Khavinson VKh, Linkova NS, Polyakova VO, et al. “Peptides tissue-specifically stimulate cell differentiation during their aging.” Bull Exp Biol Med. 2012;153(1):148–151. PMID 22808515. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22808515.
- Monaselidze JR, Khavinson VKh, Gorgoshidze MZ, et al. “Effect of the peptide bronchogen (Ala-Asp-Glu-Leu) on DNA thermostability.” Bull Exp Biol Med. 2011;150(3):375–377. PMID 21240358. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21240358 (source of the ADEL sequence discrepancy).
- 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. PMID 22117547. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22117547.
- Fedoreyeva LI, Dilovarova TA, Ashapkin VV, et al. “Short Exogenous Peptides Regulate Expression of CLE, KNOX1, and GRF Family Genes in Nicotiana tabacum.” Biochemistry (Mosc). 2017;82(4):521–528. PMID 28371610. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28371610.
- Khavinson V, Linkova N, Kozhevnikova E, et al. “Transport of Biologically Active Ultrashort Peptides Using POT and LAT Carriers.” Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(14):7733. PMID 35887081. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35887081 (family sequence table).
- National Center for Biotechnology Information. “PubChem Compound Summary for CID 11690869, Ala-Glu-Asp-Leu.” pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/11690869 (formula, mass).
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