CORTAGEN

Summary

Cortagen is a synthetic tetrapeptide (a 'cytogen') developed in Russia and studied primarily for tissue-specific regenerative and neuroprotective effects. In organotypic culture, cortagen stimulated growth of explants from brain cortex tissue, reflecting tissue-specific activity ^[1]. In rats, intramuscular cortagen after sciatic nerve transection increased growth rate and conduction velocity in the regenerating nerve ^[2], and in a chronic cerebral ischemia rodent model it accelerated recovery and limited lipid peroxidation ^[3]. A microarray study in mice showed cortagen altered cardiac gene expression ^[4]. The evidence reviewed is entirely preclinical (animal and in-vitro); no interventional human RCTs were provided, so therapeutic benefit in people remains unproven.

Sources

1. 1. Tissue-specific effects of peptides Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine, 2001.
2. 2. Effect of tetrapeptide cortagen on regeneration of sciatic nerve Bulletin of experimental biology and medicine, 2000.
3. 3. [Cortexin and cortagen as correcting agents in functional and metabolic disorders in the brain in chronic ischemia] Eksperimental'naia i klinicheskaia farmakologiia, 2011.
4. 4. Elucidation of the effect of brain cortex tetrapeptide Cortagen on gene expression in mouse heart by microarray Neuro endocrinology letters, 2004.

For educational purposes only.