A practical reference on neurotrophic factor: what it is, how it behaves, what the literature reports, and where the honest uncertainties sit.
This page was last updated on 2025-10-24 and is reviewed periodically as new material appears.
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.
Laboratory work points toward modulation of neurotrophic signaling, particularly expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor in hippocampal tissue. Studies also describe effects on monoamine turnover, inflammatory mediators, and oxidative markers. These observations come mainly from animal models and cultured cells, so the causal chain in humans is not firmly established. Whether the reported molecular changes translate into measurable clinical benefit is an open question. Reviews generally present the mechanism as plausible rather than demonstrated.
Clinical evidence consists largely of small trials with modest sample sizes, often without independent replication. Reported endpoints include cognitive scores, recovery after stroke, and visual function, but study designs vary widely and few trials meet contemporary reporting standards. Systematic reviewers have noted a high risk of bias in several of these reports. No large multicenter trial conducted outside Russia has been published. The compound is therefore best described as investigational in most jurisdictions, with its clinical role still unresolved.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical class | Synthetic heptapeptide | ACTH(4-7) analogue |
| Sequence | Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro | Free N terminus, unmodified side chains |
| Molecular weight | 813.9 Da | Free base; salt forms differ |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Lyophilised solid |
| Solubility | Freely soluble in water | Hydrophilic; polar solvents preferred |
The compound is registered in Russia as a pharmaceutical product, most commonly formulated as a nasal solution, and has been used in that setting since the 1990s. Outside that jurisdiction it is generally handled as a research chemical rather than an approved medicine. Regulatory status therefore differs sharply between countries, and material sold internationally may not correspond to the Russian pharmaceutical formulation. Documentation with commercial samples is typically limited to a certificate of analysis covering purity and identity, not clinical status or local legal classification.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. It corresponds to the ACTH(4-7) fragment extended at the C-terminus by a Pro-Gly-Pro tripeptide, an addition intended to slow enzymatic breakdown. The molecular formula is C37H51N9O10S and the molecular mass is approximately 814 daltons. In the literature it is often described as an ACTH(4-10) analog, although that label reflects a naming convention as much as a precise structural relationship. The compound was developed in Russia and remains most closely associated with that research tradition.
Laboratory descriptions of the material are consistent across suppliers. It appears as a white to off-white lyophilized powder that dissolves readily in water and in polar organic solvents such as dimethyl sulfoxide. Aqueous solutions are clear and colorless at low concentrations. Because the peptide contains methionine, oxidation at the sulfur atom is a recognized degradation pathway, and handling notes usually call for protected, desiccated storage. Reported purity for research-grade lots is generally above 95 percent as measured by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.
Published research on this peptide originates mainly from Russian laboratories, and the wider international literature is comparatively thin. Studies have used rodent models of stroke, hypoxia, and memory tasks, with a smaller number of human trials reported. Reported outcomes include changes in attention and memory measures, along with effects on neurotrophic factor expression in some experiments. Small sample sizes, inconsistent dosing protocols, and limited independent replication are widely noted limitations, so the strength of the clinical evidence remains an open question.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide whose sequence is Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. The first four residues correspond to the ACTH(4-10) fragment, while the terminal Pro-Gly-Pro extension was added to improve metabolic stability. Its molecular formula is C37H51N9O10S and its monoisotopic mass is approximately 813.9 Da. The compound is classified as a peptide research chemical and as a registered pharmaceutical product in Russia, but it does not hold marketing approval in the European Union or the United States. Naming conventions vary across supplier catalogs.
In March 2009, the company unveiled the alternate slogan "You 'Kin Do It!" and launched a $100 million ad campaign promotion. In 2017, the company announced that it would begin testing the name of simply "Dunkin'" at some retail locations, as they would like to be thought of as a destination for coffee, its most profitable product. The branding would be implemented in other locations in the latter half of 2018 if it was successful. The brand announced that it would be known simply as Dunkin' in September 2018. In April 2018, Dunkin' Donuts teamed up with the Massachusetts shoe manufacturer, Saucony, to produce a strawberry-frosted doughnut themed running shoe to commemorate the 122nd running of the Boston Marathon. The Saucony X Dunkin' Kinvara 9 came in a doughnut box and the heel of the shoe was covered in rainbow sprinkles. The chain is a favorite among celebrities. Ben Affleck began starring in commercials for the company along with his then-wife Jennifer Lopez in February 2023. The first aired during Super Bowl LVII. They starred in a follow up that first aired during Super Bowl LVIII, along with Affleck's long-time friend, Matt Damon, and former NFL star Tom Brady. The chain then announced it would add Affleck's specific order, an iced coffee with cream, sweet cold foam, and cinnamon sugar, via its limited-time DunKings Menu. On July 29, 2025, Dunkin' launched a campaign dubbed the "King of Summer", featuring actor Gavin Casalegno advertising its fruit-flavored Summer Refreshers.
With an area of 22,402,200 square kilometres (8,649,500 sq mi), the Soviet Union was the world's largest country, a status that is retained by the Russian Federation. Covering a sixth of Earth's land surface, its size was comparable to that of North America. Two other successor states are also very large — Kazakhstan ranks among the top 10 countries by land area, and Ukraine is the largest country entirely in Europe. The European portion accounted for a quarter of the country's area and was the cultural and economic centre. The eastern part in Asia extended to the Pacific Ocean to the east and Afghanistan to the south, and, except some areas in Central Asia, was much less populous. It spanned over 10,000 kilometres (6,200 mi) east to west across 11 time zones, and over 7,200 kilometres (4,500 mi) north to south. It had five climate zones: tundra, taiga, steppes, desert and mountains. The USSR, like Russia, had the world's longest border, measuring over 60,000 kilometres (37,000 mi), or 1+1⁄2 circumferences of Earth. Two-thirds of it was a coastline. The country bordered Afghanistan, the People's Republic of China, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Hungary, Iran, Mongolia, North Korea, Norway, Poland, Romania, and Turkey from 1945 to 1991. The Bering Strait separated the USSR from the United States, while the La Pérouse Strait separated it from Japan. The country's highest mountain was Communism Peak (now Ismoil Somoni Peak) in Tajikistan, at 7,495 metres (24,590 ft).
Although vultures are the only birds that depend on carrion for food, many other birds eat carrion opportunistically. Numerous birds of prey, for example wedge-tailed eagles, brown goshawks and buzzards, feed on carrion. Long-eared owls and great horned owls also feed on carrion, as do wading birds such as the marabou stork and greater adjutant, seabirds such as the northern giant petrel and ivory gull, and passerine birds such as the carrion crow, rook and forest raven. Types of carrion eaten include dead wildlife, dead livestock, roadkill, and carrion stolen from vultures or raided from crocodile caches.
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (Hindi: प्रधानमंत्री कृषि सिंचाई योजना) is a national mission to improve farm productivity and ensure better utilization of the resources in the country. The budget of ₹53 billion (US$550 million) in a time span of one year 2015-2016 has been allocated to this scheme. The decision was taken on 1 July 2015 at the meeting of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, approved with an outlay of 50000 crore for period of 5 years (2015-16 to 2019-20).
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Endothelial NOS (eNOS), also known as nitric oxide synthase 3 (NOS3) or constitutive NOS (cNOS), is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the NOS3 gene located in the 7q35-7q36 region of chromosome 7. This enzyme is one of three isoforms that synthesize nitric oxide (NO), a small gaseous and lipophilic molecule that participates in several biological processes. The other isoforms include neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS), which is constitutively expressed in specific neurons of the brain and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), whose expression is typically induced in inflammatory diseases. eNOS is primarily responsible for the generation of NO in the vascular endothelium, a monolayer of flat cells lining the interior surface of blood vessels, at the interface between circulating blood in the lumen and the remainder of the vessel wall. NO produced by eNOS in the vascular endothelium plays crucial roles in regulating vascular tone, cellular proliferation, leukocyte adhesion, and platelet aggregation. Therefore, a functional eNOS is essential for a healthy cardiovascular system.
=== Homonuclear nuclear magnetic resonance === With unlabelled protein the usual procedure is to record a set of two-dimensional homonuclear nuclear magnetic resonance experiments through correlation spectroscopy (COSY), of which several types include conventional correlation spectroscopy, total correlation spectroscopy (TOCSY) and nuclear Overhauser effect spectroscopy (NOESY). A two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance experiment produces a two-dimensional spectrum. The units of both axes are chemical shifts. The COSY and TOCSY transfer magnetization through the chemical bonds between adjacent protons. The conventional correlation spectroscopy experiment is only able to transfer magnetization between protons on adjacent atoms, whereas in the total correlation spectroscopy experiment the protons are able to relay the magnetization, so it is transferred among all the protons that are connected by adjacent atoms. Thus in a conventional correlation spectroscopy, an alpha proton transfers magnetization to the beta protons, the beta protons transfers to the alpha and gamma protons, if any are present, then the gamma proton transfers to the beta and the delta protons, and the process continues. In total correlation spectroscopy, the alpha and all the other protons are able to transfer magnetization to the beta, gamma, delta, epsilon if they are connected by a continuous chain of protons. The continuous chain of protons are the sidechain of the individual amino acids.
Kennedy criticized the hearing, saying, "No fair-minded American can believe that he's not qualified—he went to Yale Law School; he didn't get his law degree from Costco. He has a total command of Supreme Court precedent. I think he’s a legal rock star." Kennedy broke from Republicans during the hearing to call for the FBI's investigation into Ford's allegations to be made public. In March 2018, after a dog died in an overhead bin while flying United Airlines, Kennedy said he would file a bill to "prohibit airlines from putting animals in overhead bins" and added that officials "would face significant fines" if they did not comply. That month, he introduced the Welfare Of Our Furry Friends (WOOFF) Act, but the bill died in committee. In July 2018, Kennedy and several other Republican members of Congress met with Russian government officials in Moscow. During the meetings, the two sides discussed election interference, upholding nuclear arms treaties, maintaining peace in Syria, and respecting Ukrainian sovereignty. The delegation was criticized for visiting the country during Fourth of July celebrations and for holding the talks just days after an incident in the United Kingdom in which a couple were poisoned by a suspected Russian nerve agent. On October 12, 2018, the Senate voted to pass Kennedy's Rural Business Investment Program Advisers Relief Act of 2018. The bill removes compliance costs on a venture capital program aimed at stimulating business in rural America. It became law in 2019.
Reports from clinicians based at other Italian institutions detailed significantly fewer leucotomy operations. Experimental modifications of Moniz's operation were introduced with little delay by Italian medical practitioners. Most notably, in 1937 Amarro Fiamberti, the medical director of a psychiatric institution in Varese, first devised the transorbital procedure whereby the frontal lobes were accessed through the eye sockets. Fiamberti's method was to puncture the thin layer of orbital bone at the top of the socket and then inject alcohol or formalin into the white matter of the frontal lobes through this aperture. Using this method, while sometimes substituting a leucotome for a hypodermic needle, it is estimated that he leucotomised about 100 patients in the period up to the outbreak of World War II. Fiamberti's innovation of Moniz's method would later prove inspirational for Walter Freeman's development of transorbital lobotomy.
=== Role in periodontal tissues === Elaunin fibers in the periodontal ligament (PDL) have connective tissue that anchors each tooth to the surrounding bone and helps cushion the forces we generate while chewing. In studies on rat molars, researchers found that elaunin fibers appear alongside oxytalan and mature elastic fibers. It forms a flexible network that allows the PDL to stretch during function and then return to its original shape (Sawada et al., 2006).
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
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.
It contains the 4-7 fragment of adrenocorticotropic hormone extended at the C terminus. That truncation removes the region associated with steroidogenic activity. The design intent was to keep neurotrophic properties while avoiding full hormonal effects.
No natural source of the intact heptapeptide is known. It is produced by solid-phase peptide synthesis. Some related ACTH fragments arise as hormone processing products, but the Pro-Gly-Pro extension is a designed addition rather than a natural sequence.
Semax is a synthetic seven-amino-acid peptide derived from a fragment of corticotropin. It is used in Russia as a nasal preparation, while elsewhere it is studied as a research compound. It is not approved as a medicine in most countries.