Heptapeptide raises a handful of sensible questions. This page answers them in order, starting with the fundamentals and moving to applications.
This page was last updated on 2026-03-16 and is reviewed periodically as new material appears.
Semax 是人工设计的七肽,序列为 Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro,骨架取自促肾上腺皮质激素片段 ACTH(4-10)。它于二十世纪八十年代在苏联的分子遗传学研究机构内合成。设计目标是保留该片段与注意力和记忆相关的活性,同时剔除促皮质激素释放等内分泌作用。此后俄罗斯将其登记为药品并进入临床使用。
当时的短肽研究普遍关注能否穿越血脑屏障、在低剂量下产生中枢效应,Semax 属于这一路线。鼻内给药是其主要使用方式,俄语文献报道的适应症涵盖缺血性卒中、短暂性脑缺血发作、认知功能减退以及视神经病变。这些研究大多发表在当地期刊上,样本规模与终点设置同西方试验惯例存在差异,国际同行对其临床证据的强度看法不一。
各国监管态度分化明显。俄罗斯按处方药管理,部分东欧国家留有使用记录;欧盟与美国未批准其作为药物上市,市面流通品通常标注为研究用化学品。身份差异意味着标示含量、纯度与无菌性缺少统一核查。体育领域还牵涉反兴奋剂名录,跨境携带则受目的地药品法规约束。
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. Its design combines the ACTH(4-7) core fragment with a C-terminal Pro-Gly-Pro extension, a modification intended to improve stability and prolong activity. The molecule is hydrophilic, carries no lipid chains or glycosylation, and has a theoretical mass just over 810 daltons in its free form. All seven residues are proteinogenic amino acids, so no non-natural building blocks appear in the backbone. A free N-terminal methionine and C-terminal proline define the unmodified parent peptide.
The compound was developed during the 1980s at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow as part of research on fragments of adrenocorticotropic hormone. Early work examined short ACTH-derived sequences that retained neurotrophic effects while lacking the endocrine activity of the full hormone. Semax entered clinical use in Russia during the 1990s, where it received registration for several neurological indications. Outside that region it remained primarily a laboratory research material rather than an approved therapeutic. English-language literature on it grew more slowly and frequently cited the original Russian studies.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 结构类别 | 线性合成七肽 | 无环化结构,不含二硫键 |
| 氨基酸序列 | Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro | N 端为甲硫氨酸 |
| 分子量 | 约 814 Da | 游离碱形式的计算值 |
| 外观 | 白色至类白色粉末 | 具吸湿性 |
| 溶解性 | 易溶于水 | 亦可溶于甲醇等极性溶剂 |
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. It was derived from the ACTH(4-10) fragment, a short segment of adrenocorticotropic hormone that lacks the hormonal activity associated with the full-length peptide. Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow developed the compound during the 1980s. It has been registered as a pharmaceutical product in Russia and several neighbouring countries, where it is supplied as a nasal solution, and it is also sold internationally as a research chemical.
The proposed mechanism centres on neurotrophic signalling rather than direct receptor activation. Semax is reported to increase expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor in several brain regions, and to shift the balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitter systems. Interaction with melanocortin receptors has been suggested because of the parent ACTH fragment. Many of these findings come from rodent studies, and the extent to which they translate to human physiology remains an open question.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide developed in the Soviet Union during the 1980s by researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow. It was designed as a truncated analog of adrenocorticotropic hormone, retaining only the fragment spanning residues four through ten. Investigators sought a peptide that would preserve the cognitive effects associated with ACTH while eliminating the hormonal stimulation of the adrenal cortex. The compound entered clinical use in Russia during the following decade.
Russian regulatory authorities approved the peptide for nasal administration, and it remains listed in the national pharmacopoeia under several trade names. Documented indications include acute ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attacks, traumatic brain injury, and certain ophthalmological and neurological conditions. Physicians also prescribe it for cognitive complaints in older patients, although the evidence base for that use is thinner. Outside Russia and a few neighboring states, the substance is not an approved medicine and is sold instead as a research chemical.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. Its chain combines the first seven residues of corticotropin with a C-terminal proline-glycine-proline extension, a modification intended to slow enzymatic breakdown. The free peptide has a molecular mass near 813.9 daltons. It belongs to the class of ACTH-derived fragments studied for central nervous system activity rather than for adrenal steroid stimulation. This structural relationship to a natural hormone fragment is the usual starting point for describing the compound in the literature.
Development took place during the 1980s at institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where peptide fragments of ACTH were screened for cognitive and neuroprotective effects. The compound received regulatory approval in Russia as a nasal preparation, marketed for conditions such as ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attacks, and optic nerve disorders. Registration in other countries has not followed. Most published clinical reports originate from a small number of Russian research groups, and independent replication outside that setting remains limited. The regulatory status therefore differs sharply between Russia and the rest of the world.
=== Lanthipeptides === Lanthipeptides are one of the most well-studied families of RiPPs. The family is characterized by the presence of lanthionine (Lan) and 3-methyllanthionine (MeLan) residues in the final natural product. There are four major classes of lanthipeptides, delineated by the enzymes responsible for installation of Lan and MeLan. The dehydratase and cyclase can be two separate proteins or one multifunctional enzyme. Previously, lanthipeptides were known as "lantipeptides" before a consensus was reached in the field. Lantibiotics are lanthipeptides that have known antimicrobial activity. The founding member of the lanthipeptide family, nisin, is a lantibiotic that has been used to prevent the growth of food-born pathogens for over 40 years.
=== Central post-stroke pain === Amitriptyline has also been reported to be effective in treating central post-stroke pain following lateral medullary infarction (Wallenberg Syndrome), particularly in patients with thermal dysesthesia. In a long-term observational study of 63 patients with brainstem stroke, 16 developed central pain, and all responded to amitriptyline, often relapsing when treatment was discontinued.
== Applications == ECM biomaterials are used to promote healing in a number of tissues, especially the skin and tendons. Surgimend, a collagen matrix derived from fetal bovine dermis, can trigger the healing of tendons (which do not heal spontaneously) in the ankle. This intervention can shorten healing time by almost half and allows the patient to return to full activity much sooner. Open wounds, like tendons, do not spontaneously heal and can persist for long stretches of time. When ECM biomaterials are added in multiple layers to the ulcer, the wound begins to close quickly and generates host tissue. Although preliminary studies seem promising, little information is available on the success of and direct comparisons between different ECM biomaterial devices in human trials. Alloderm, an acellular dermis derived from the skin of donated cadavers, is used in reconstructive and dental surgeries. In gingival grafts, the acellular dermis is an alternative to tissue cut from the palate of the patient's mouth. It has also been used for abdominal hernia repair, and to rebuild resected turbinates in the treatment of empty nose syndrome. Alloderm and other acellular dermal matrices are used routinely in implant based breast reconstruction after mastectomy for improved soft tissue coverage and thus decrease the risk of visible rippling, capsular contraction, implant malposition, bottoming out and implant exposure.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
The ancestors of modern reptiles (which belong to the clade Sauria) had diverged from each other by the Late Permian, as evidenced by species such as the monitor lizard-like Protorosaurus known from the Late Permian of Europe, which is clearly an archosauromorph, more closely related to archosaurs (crocodilians and birds) than to lizards, snakes or turtles.
A clinical trial that is carried out at more than one medical institution. (NCI) A clinical trial conducted according to a single protocol but at more than one site, and, therefore, carried out by more than one investigator. (ICH E6 and ICH E9) Multidisciplinary opinion
=== Murder of Charmaine West === Rose is believed to have murdered Charmaine shortly before Fred's prison release date of 24 June 1971. She is known to have taken Charmaine, Anne Marie and Heather to visit Fred on 15 June, and it is believed that Charmaine was killed on or very shortly after this date. As well as forensic dentistry confirming that Charmaine had died while Fred was still incarcerated, further testimony from Tracey Giles' mother, Shirley, corroborated the fact that Charmaine had died before Fred's release. In her later testimony at Rose's trial, Shirley stated that her two daughters had been playmates of Charmaine and Anne Marie when her family lived in the upper flat of 25 Midland Road in 1971. Shirley further stated that after her family had vacated the flat in April 1971, she had brought Tracey to visit Charmaine on a day in June, only for Tracey to be told by Rose: "She's gone to live with her mother, and bloody good riddance!" Shirley Giles was adamant that Fred was still in prison on this occasion. As with the Giles family, Rose explained Charmaine's disappearance to others who enquired about her whereabouts by claiming that Fred's first wife, Catherine "Rena" West, had taken her eldest daughter to live with her in Bristol. She contradictorily informed staff at Charmaine's primary school that the child had moved with her mother to London. When Fred was released from prison on 24 June, he allayed Anne Marie's concerns for her sister's whereabouts by claiming Rena had collected Charmaine and returned to her native Scotland.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
According to an Afghan media outlet, Pakistani aircraft have repeatedly patrolled Afghan airspace over the past two months, promoting Taliban forces to fire at them, which in some cases has resulted in casualties and damage to Afghan civilians. Two TTP militants and a policeman were killed in a clash in Lakki Marwat. On 21 April, Pakistani military claimed to have carried out an operation in Khyber District killing 22 TTP militants while a child was also killed in the crossfire. On 22 April, local Afghan sources reported that Pakistani forces carried out mortar strikes targeting Asadabad, provincial capital of Kunar province. Earlier, local Afghan sources said that the villages of Kochi, Shahbaz and Koremar in Kunar province were targeted by artillery strikes carried out by Pakistani forces. Elsewhere, border areas of Paktika province were also subjected to cross border shelling by Pakistani forces, according to local Afghan sources. No casualties were reported in these attacks, and Taliban officials did not comment on them. On 24 April, TTP attacked a police station in Dera Ismail Khan District using heavy weapons damaging the station and nearby buildings. On 26 April, three civilians were wounded in a Taliban artillery attack at Zalulkhel area in South Waziristan. In response, Pakistan claimed to have destroyed Taliban firing positions and foiled infiltration attempts. On 27 April, seven people were killed and 85 others were injured in Pakistani strikes in Kunar province, including a strike on the Sayed Jamaluddin Afghani University in the provincial capital of Asadabad.
=== Sexual disorders === Persistent genital arousal disorder (PGAD) results in spontaneous, persistent, and uncontrollable genital arousal in women, unrelated to any feelings of sexual desire. Clitoral priapism is a rare, potentially painful medical condition and is sometimes described as an aspect of PGAD. With PGAD, arousal lasts for an unusually extended period (ranging from hours to days); it can also be associated with morphometric and vascular modifications of the clitoris. Drugs may cause or affect clitoral priapism. The drug trazodone is known to cause male priapism as a side effect, but there is only one documented report that it may have caused clitoral priapism, in which case discontinuing the medication may be a remedy. Additionally, nefazodone is documented to have caused clitoral engorgement, as distinct from clitoral priapism, in one case, and clitoral priapism can sometimes start as a result of, or only after, the discontinuation of antipsychotics or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Because PGAD is relatively rare and, as its concept apart from clitoral priapism, has only been researched since 2001, there is little research into what may cure or remedy the disorder. In some recorded cases, PGAD was caused by or caused, a pelvic arterial-venous malformation with arterial branches to the clitoris; surgical treatment was effective in these cases.
=== Peatlands === Managed burning of moorland vegetation in the UK has been shown to generate PAHs which become incorporated into the peat surface. Burning of moorland vegetation such as heather initially generates high amounts of two- and three-ringed PAHs relative to four- to six-ringed PAHs in surface sediments, however, this pattern is reversed as the lower molecular weight PAHs are attenuated by biotic decay and photodegradation. Evaluation of the PAH distributions using statistical methods such as principal component analyses (PCA) enabled the study to link the source (burnt moorland) to pathway (suspended stream sediment) to the depositional sink (reservoir bed).
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
不存在。它是依据 ACTH 的一段序列人工设计的分子,天然蛋白质中找不到与之完全相同的七肽。名称属于研究代号,而非天然物质名。
Semax 对应 ACTH 第 4 至第 10 位的片段,并在两端做了替换与延长,使其不再具备促肾上腺皮质激素的典型内分泌活性。这一改动同时改变了它在体内的稳定性与分布特征。
俄罗斯将其列为处方药物,需要医生开具处方。多数其他国家把它当作研究化合物,不能作为药品销售或宣称疗效。具体合法性取决于当地法规。
It is a synthetic seven-amino-acid peptide built from the ACTH(4-7) sequence plus a Pro-Gly-Pro tail. It belongs to the family of short ACTH fragments studied for nervous-system effects. Its backbone contains only standard amino acids.