Livagen

Livagen is the synthetic tetrapeptide Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala (KEDA). Khavinson’s group studied it alongside a polypeptide complex extracted from calf liver, and its research record splits into two lines: liver and digestive enzyme work in rats and organ cultures, and chromatin studies in cultured lymphocytes from elderly donors. The Livagen peptide resists hydrolysis by small intestinal peptidases, a property measured directly in rat tissue. Research Market supplies Livagen 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: C₁₈H₃₁N₅O₉
• Molecular weight: 461.5 g/mol
• CAS number: 433257-50-2
• PubChem CID: 87919683
• Amino acid sequence: Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala (KEDA)
• Form: Lyophilized powder
• Analytical methods: RP-HPLC for purity and mass spectrometry for identity, reported on the batch certificate of analysis

Research applications

• Digestive enzymes: Small intestinal peptide hydrolases did not cleave Livagen; in vitro it cut glycyl-L-leucine dipeptidase activity by 50%, and two weeks of oral administration lowered digestive enzyme activity in young rats and raised it in old rats [1]
• Liver organ culture: In an organotypic liver culture, immunocytochemical and morphometric analysis linked the tetrapeptide to preserved structure of hepatic cell populations and to regeneration processes [2]
• Hepatic models (review): A review covers the liver polypeptide complex and KEDA in animal and in-vitro models of experimental liver injury and hepatitis, including immune and antioxidant measures [3]
• Chromatin activation: In lymphocytes from elderly donors, Livagen activated ribosomal genes and decondensed pericentromeric structural heterochromatin [4]
• Metal-ion stress: In cultured lymphocytes from 80- to 91-year-old donors, Livagen lowered chromosomal aberrations induced by CoCl₂ and shifted sister chromatid exchange patterns [5]

Reference citations

1. Timofeeva N. et al. (2005). [Effect of peptide Livagen on activity of digestive enzymes in gastrointestinal tract and non-digestive organs in rats of different ages]. Adv Gerontol, 16:92–96. PMID 16075683
2. Riadnova I. et al. (2002). [Functional morphology of an organotypic liver culture exposed to the peptide livagen]. Adv Gerontol, 10:88–94. PMID 12577697
3. Kuznik B. et al. (2020). [The influence of polypeptide liver complex and tetrapeptide KEDA on organism physiological function in norm and age-related pathology]. Adv Gerontol, 33(1):159–164. PMID 32362099
4. Khavinson V. et al. (2002). Effects of Livagen peptide on chromatin activation in lymphocytes from old people. Bull Exp Biol Med, 134(4):389–392. PMID 12533768 · DOI
5. Lezhava T. et al. (2007). Activation of pericentromeric and telomeric heterochromatin in cultured lymphocytes from old individuals. Ann N Y Acad Sci, 1100:387–399. PMID 17460203 · DOI

Compound data from PubChem CID 87919683. Literature summaries describe published preclinical research and are not claims about this product’s effects in humans or animals.