Cortagen

Cortagen is the synthetic tetrapeptide Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro (AEDP). It was designed from amino acid analysis of a peptide preparation extracted from brain cortex, and its C-terminal proline separates it from the other AED-based tetrapeptides. Cortagen peptide studies include sciatic nerve regeneration in rats, lipid peroxidation in rat serum and cortex, interleukin-2 gene expression in mouse splenocytes and a microarray survey of gene expression in mouse heart. Research Market supplies Cortagen as a lyophilized research reagent, with purity and identity data for each lot reported on its certificate of analysis. It is sold strictly for laboratory research use.

Chemical structure and identification

• Molecular formula: C₁₇H₂₆N₄O₉
• Molecular weight: 430.4 g/mol
• CAS number: 335591-03-2
• PubChem CID: 18439621
• Amino acid sequence: Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro (AEDP)
• Form: Lyophilized powder
• Analytical methods: RP-HPLC for purity and mass spectrometry for identity, reported on the batch certificate of analysis

Research applications

• Peripheral nerve regeneration: In rats after sciatic nerve transection and suture, a 10-day cortagen course increased growth rate and conduction velocity of regenerating fibers by 27% and 40% [1]
• Cortical explants: In organotypic cultures, cortagen stimulated growth of rat brain cortex explants, matching the tissue whose peptide complex it was modeled on [2]
• Free-radical processes: In rats, cortagen lowered lipid peroxidation products and oxidative modification of proteins in serum and cerebral cortex [3]
• Interleukin-2 expression: In CBA mouse splenocytes in vitro, cortagen activated IL-2 mRNA synthesis without specific inducers, with a smaller effect than Vilon or Epithalon [4]
• Cardiac transcriptome: A cDNA microarray of 15,247 transcripts in hearts of CBA mice given cortagen for 5 days found 234 clones with significant expression changes, matching 110 known genes [5]

Reference citations

1. Turchaninova L. et al. (2000). Effect of tetrapeptide cortagen on regeneration of sciatic nerve. Bull Exp Biol Med, 130(12):1172–1174. PMID 11276314
2. Khavinson V. (2001). Tissue-specific effects of peptides. Bull Exp Biol Med, 132(2):807–808. PMID 11713572 · DOI
3. Kozina L. (2007). Effects of bioactive tetrapeptides on free-radical processes. Bull Exp Biol Med, 143(6):744–746. PMID 18239817 · DOI
4. Kazakova T. et al. (2002). In vitro effect of short peptides on expression of interleukin-2 gene in splenocytes. Bull Exp Biol Med, 133(6):614–616. PMID 12447482 · DOI
5. Anisimov S. et al. (2004). Elucidation of the effect of brain cortex tetrapeptide Cortagen on gene expression in mouse heart by microarray. Neuro Endocrinol Lett, 25(1-2):87–93. PMID 15159690

Compound data from PubChem CID 18439621. Literature summaries describe published preclinical research and are not claims about this product’s effects in humans or animals.