Cortagen Research: The Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro Tetrapeptide and Its Literature
Cortagen is the AEDP tetrapeptide of the Khavinson short-peptide family, derived by directed synthesis from a brain-cortex extract. Its literature is moderate by the standards of this family — a handful of rodent studies, one microarray experiment, several immune assays, and, unusually, published null results. This is a deliberately short page. The family’s evidence problems are set out in full on the peptide bioregulator overview.
What is Cortagen?
What is Cortagen? A synthetic tetrapeptide — four amino acids, Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro, written AEDP. It shares the Ala-Glu-Asp core with Epitalon (AEDG) and Cartalax (AED), differing only at the C-terminus, which is worth knowing because the difference between several family members is a single residue. Alternative spellings and codes in the literature include “cortagene” and “Korthagen”.
Its provenance is stated unusually clearly for this family. Anisimov, Khavinson and Anisimov (Neuro Endocrinol Lett, 2004, PMID 15159690) write that the tetrapeptide “was obtained by directed synthesis based on amino acid analysis of natural brain cortex peptide preparation Cortexin”. Cortexin is an animal-tissue extract — a mixture — and Cortagen is a single defined sequence assembled from residues that analysis found in it. The two are separate materials with separate literatures, and conflating them is one of the commonest errors in secondary writing about this compound.
Reference data
Identity and form only, from the public chemical record for the all-L Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro tetrapeptide (PubChem CID 18439621). No PubChem record carries “Cortagen” 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-Pro (AEDP) |
| Also known as | Cortagen, cortagene, Korthagen |
| Molecular formula | C₁₇H₂₆N₄O₉ |
| Molecular weight | ≈ 430.4 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
- Peripheral-nerve regeneration in rats — Turchaninova et al. (2000, Bull Exp Biol Med, PMID 11276314) examined regeneration of the sciatic nerve; Kolosova et al. (2002, Dokl Biol Sci, PMID 12134478) examined the delayed restoration of injured nerve function. This is the endpoint most specific to Cortagen in the corpus.
- Transcriptome screening — Anisimov et al. (2004, Neuro Endocrinol Lett, PMID 15159690) analysed expression of 15,247 transcripts in the hearts of female CBA mice given the peptide for five consecutive days. Note that the tissue examined is heart, not cortex — the study was a screen for molecular targets, not a test of the compound’s nominal designation.
- Immune-cell assays — Kazakova et al. (2002, Bull Exp Biol Med, PMID 12447482) examined interleukin-2 mRNA synthesis in mouse splenocytes, reporting Cortagen as the least potent of the three peptides tested.
- Brain-ischaemia pharmacology — Zarubina & Shabanov (2011, Eksp Klin Farmakol, PMID 21476278, Russian-language) examined cortexin and cortagen together in a chronic cerebral ischaemia model. Only the English abstract was available for this page.
- Chromatin condensation in donor lymphocytes — Lezhava et al. (2023, Georgian Med News, PMID 37042594) included AEDP among the bioregulators examined in cultured lymphocytes from donors aged 75–88.
Evidence status — what is not established
Two published null results belong on this page as much as the positive ones. In a thymocyte assay, Cortagen produced no comitogenic effect on proliferation and no modulation of interleukin-1β activity where Vilon did (PMID 12420072). In neonatally hypophysectomised and aged chickens, injections of cortagene “do not affect the parameters studied” while Epitalon eliminated the observed shifts (PMID 19432169). Both reports come from the originating group, which is a point in the corpus’s favour.
What is not established: any effect in humans — no controlled human trial of Cortagen was located in indexed sources; the mechanism, which rests on the family-wide peptide–DNA hypothesis discussed on the overview page rather than on any Cortagen-specific demonstration; and the “neuroprotector” designation, which is the developers’ label. Independent replication outside the originating network was not found. Nothing here is a claim about what this compound does in a person.
How to verify this compound yourself
Identity matters more than usual in this family because the members are so similar. Mass spectrometry should confirm the measured mass against the expected ≈ 430 Da, which separates AEDP from its close relatives AEDG (Epitalon, ≈ 390 Da) and AEDL (Bronchogen, ≈ 446 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
Cortagen 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, Vilon, Pinealon and Cartalax. 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 Cortagen?
Where does Cortagen come from?
What did the Cortagen studies actually measure?
Are the Cortagen results uniformly positive?
Literature cited
- Anisimov SV, Khavinson VKh, Anisimov VN. “Elucidation of the effect of brain cortex tetrapeptide Cortagen on gene expression in mouse heart by microarray.” Neuro Endocrinol Lett. 2004;25(1–2):87–93. PMID 15159690. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15159690.
- Turchaninova LN, Kolosova LI, Malinin VV, et al. “Effect of tetrapeptide cortagen on regeneration of sciatic nerve.” Bull Exp Biol Med. 2000;130(12):1172–1174. PMID 11276314. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11276314.
- Kolosova LI, Moiseeva AB, Turchaninova LN, et al. “The delayed effect of cortagen on the restoration of injured nerve function.” Dokl Biol Sci. 2002;384:183–184. PMID 12134478. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12134478.
- Kazakova TB, Barabanova SV, Khavinson VKh, et al. “In vitro effect of short peptides on expression of interleukin-2 gene in splenocytes.” Bull Exp Biol Med. 2002;133(6):614–616. PMID 12447482. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12447482.
- Khavinson VKh, Rybakina EG, Malinin VV, et al. “Effects of short peptides on thymocyte blast transformation and signal transduction along the sphingomyelin pathway.” Bull Exp Biol Med. 2002;133(5):497–499. PMID 12420072. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12420072 (null result for Cortagen).
- Kuznik BI, Pateiuk AV, Baranchugova LM, et al. “Effects of epithalon and cortagene on immunity and hemostasis in neonatally hypophysectomized chicken and old birds.” Adv Gerontol. 2008;21(3):372–381. PMID 19432169. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19432169 (Russian-language; null result for cortagene).
- Zarubina IV, Shabanov PD. “Cortexin and cortagen as correcting agents in functional and metabolic disorders in the brain in chronic ischemia.” Eksp Klin Farmakol. 2011;74(2):8–15. PMID 21476278. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21476278 (Russian-language; English abstract only).
- Lezhava T, Jokhadze T, Monaselidze J, et al. “Epigenetic modification under the influence of peptide bioregulators on the ‘old’ chromatin.” Georgian Med News. 2023;(335):79–83. PMID 37042594. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37042594.
- National Center for Biotechnology Information. “PubChem Compound Summary for CID 18439621, Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro.” pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/18439621 (formula, mass).
RESEARCH USE ONLY — NOT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. All products are sold strictly for in-vitro laboratory research and are not intended for human or veterinary use, ingestion, or administration. Nothing on this page is a medical or efficacy claim. You must be 21 or older to browse this catalog.