The short version of AEDG fits in a sentence. The long version — which is the one that helps — is below.
This page was last updated on 2026-07-11 and is reviewed periodically as new material appears.
Published evidence comes mainly from Russian-language journals and from a single research group, with small sample sizes and limited independent replication. A few laboratories outside that group have examined related peptides and reported weaker or absent telomerase effects, so the central claim is best described as contested rather than settled. Rodent studies report modest changes in some ageing markers and in survival, but designs vary and control conditions are often sparse. No large randomised trial in humans has been published, and long-term safety data in healthy populations are correspondingly thin.
Epitalon is a synthetic tetrapeptide with the sequence alanine-glutamate-aspartate-glycine, commonly abbreviated AEDG. It was designed at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology as a short, chemically defined analogue of epithalamin, a fraction obtained from bovine pineal tissue. Small peptide bioregulators of this type formed a long-running line of work there from the 1980s onward. Because the molecule is produced by solid-phase synthesis rather than extraction, its composition is exact and its purity can be measured directly.
Proposed mechanisms centre on cell-culture observations rather than a defined receptor interaction. Several reports describe increased expression of the telomerase catalytic subunit after exposure of cultured human cells, and the authors attributed the effect to short peptide fragments entering the nucleus and influencing gene transcription. No receptor for the tetrapeptide has been identified, and the free peptide is expected to be degraded rapidly by plasma peptidases. Whether any measurable fraction reaches intact tissues after administration remains an unresolved question rather than an established finding.
The published literature is dominated by a small number of research groups, much of it in Russian-language journals, and independent replication outside those groups is limited. Studies are typically small, use cultured cells or rodent models, and report endpoints that differ between papers, which makes comparison difficult. Large randomised human trials have not appeared in the indexed literature. Questions about absorption, distribution and clearance are therefore still treated as open in reviews that mention the compound.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular formula | C14H22N4O9 | Calculated from the four residues with three water losses |
| Molecular mass | About 390.35 g/mol | Monoisotopic mass near 390.14, used for mass-spectrometric identification |
| Peptide sequence | Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly | Single-letter form AEDG; no disulfide bonds or modified residues |
| Appearance | White to off-white solid | Supplied as a dried powder |
| Isoelectric point | Around 4 | Estimated from aspartate and glutamate side-chain pKa values |
Laboratory work has examined effects on telomerase activity in cultured cells, on melatonin rhythms in animals, and on markers of oxidative stress. Some experiments report measurable changes while others show none, and the reported findings rest largely on small studies. The absence of large independent trials means the generality of these results is unresolved rather than settled. Review articles occasionally apply the label geroprotector, a term that reflects a research hypothesis about ageing rather than an established clinical finding.
Epitalon is the common name for a synthetic tetrapeptide with the sequence alanine-glutamate-aspartate-glycine, usually abbreviated AEDG. All four residues are proteinogenic amino acids, and the free peptide has a calculated mass near 390 grams per mole. Because the chain is short and carries no modifications, it is assembled readily by solid-phase synthesis and is distributed mainly as a freeze-dried solid for laboratory work. Catalogue listings use the spellings epitalon, epithalone, and simply AEDG, and the three refer to the same sequence.
Reported biological findings come mainly from cell culture and rodent experiments. Those studies describe changes in telomerase catalytic subunit expression, melatonin rhythm amplitude, and antioxidant enzyme activity after peptide exposure. Human data are sparse and consist of small trials with limited blinding and inconsistent endpoints. The proposed mechanisms remain hypotheses rather than established facts, and there is no consensus on whether effects observed in animals carry over to people. Independent replication outside the original research groups is limited, which is a recognised gap in the published literature.
The parent extract epithalamin was characterised as a low-molecular-weight fraction of pineal tissue rather than a single defined chemical entity. Researchers fractionated it and tested successive fragments for activity, a screening approach typical of peptide discovery work in that era. Epitalon emerged from that process as one of the shorter sequences of interest. Because the original extract was never fully resolved into individual components, claims about which constituent drives a given effect rest on inference. This distinction matters when reading older reports that attribute extract observations to the tetrapeptide itself.
=== NAADP-selective physiology === Hardly surprisingly, the three major second messengers do not do the same thing and cannot always substitute for each other. The physiological consequences of Ca2+ release by each messenger may be different i.e. NAADP couples to downstream responses that cannot be mimicked by IP3 and cADPR. For example, NAADP selectively stimulates neuronal differentiation, or exocytosis in cytotoxic T-cells.
== Career == Upon receiving his Ph.D., Gattuso moved to Australia where he was a postdoctoral researcher at the Australian Institute of Marine Science(1988-1990). In 1990, Gattuso took a position of CNRS research scientist at Centre de Biologie et Écologie Tropicale et Méditerranéenne of the University of Perpignan (1990-1992). He then moved to the Scientific Center of Monaco to launch and lead the Ecophysiology and Biogeochemistry group. In 1998, Gattuso went back to a CNRS joint laboratory at the Villefranche Oceanographic Observatory and moved to the ranks of Research Professor (directeur de recherche). He is also Associate Scientist at the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI-SciencesPo, Paris). Gattuso has been visiting professor or scientist at Rutgers University, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and Shantou University. Gattuso is the founding editor-in-chief of Biogeosciences and served or has served in the editorial board of several scientific journals. He founded the Biogeosciences Division of the European Geosciences Union, and has received multiple awards and honors for his research contributions. He led the launch of the Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre at the International Atomic Energy Agency, co-edited the first book on ocean acidification (Oxford University Press) and contributed to several IPCC products (5th Assessment Report, Special Report on 1.5°C of Warming, and the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate).
=== Consumable-free thermal modulation === This approach eliminates the need for liquid nitrogen for thermal modulation. The system employs a closed cycle refrigerator/heat exchanger to produce −90 °C at the jet. The cooling is done by indirect cooling of gaseous nitrogen (or air) and therefore is capable of modulating volatile and semi volatile compounds over the C7+ range.
The Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST) is a US program for all types of nuclear emergencies of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) of the United States Department of Energy and is also a counter-terrorism unit that responds to incidents involving radioactive materials or nuclear weapons in US possession abroad. It was founded in 1974/75 under US President Gerald Ford and renamed the Nuclear Emergency Support Team in 2002. In 1988, a secret agreement from 1976 between the USA and the Federal Republic of Germany became known, which stipulates the deployment of NEST in the Federal Republic. In Germany, a similar unit has existed since 2003 with the name Central Federal Support Group for Serious Cases of Nuclear-Specific Emergency Response (ZUB).
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
== Disease relevance == The presence of serum prolidase in the blood is a good indicator of the presence and severity of many types of diseases. For instance, Type 2 Diabetes mellitus patients have elevated levels of serum prolidase. This is expected because high blood glucose leads to a decrease in collagen production and inflammatory cell generation, which depreciates wound healing ability. Furthermore, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ankylosing spondylitis, and benign joint hypermobility syndrome have corresponded with low serum prolidase levels. Prolidase has become a prominent marker of cancer progression in patients with various types of cancer. Depending on the elevated levels of serum prolidase in the blood, physicians are able to determine tumor size, stage of cancer, and prognosis, all of which help significantly in treating these diseases. Analysis of serum prolidase levels has been used to detect the severity of liver disease in some instances. Research has indicated the correlation between chronic liver diseases and serum prolidase. For instance, one study suggested an increase in serum prolidase levels during the initial stages of cirrhotic liver fibrosis, followed by a decrease as the disease progressed. Moreover, analysis of serum prolidase levels in alcoholic hepatitis patients has displayed higher levels compared to cirrhosis patients. Serum prolidase is a highly necessary enzyme in the human body. Through its many functions, most notably collagen recycling, prolidase is widely used in the overall metabolism of humans.
==== Loan to Queens Park Rangers ==== On 31 January 2013, Townsend followed Redknapp to Premier League club Queens Park Rangers on loan until the end of the season. He made twelve appearances for the club, including a Man of the Match performance on his debut, scoring two goals in March, a dipping volley from outside the penalty area in a 3–1 win at home to Sunderland, and an equalising deflection in a 3–2 away loss to Aston Villa. QPR were ultimately relegated, and Townsend returned to his parent club.
=== Impaired neutrophil migration and tumor necrosis factor- Alpha === Impaired neutrophil migration (caused by genetic defects, infections, and the aging process) causes increased macrophage activity that can lead to granuloma formation, a hallmark of NL. Furthermore, TNF-α is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that's activated by macrophages, and it plays a critical role in granuloma formation.
== Medical uses == Remifentanil is used as an opioid analgesic that has a rapid onset and rapid recovery time. It has been used effectively during craniotomies, spinal surgery, cardiac surgery, and gastric bypass surgery. While opioids function similarly, with respect to analgesia, the pharmacokinetics of remifentanil allows for quicker post-operative recovery. Remifentanil can be administered as part of an anesthesia technique called TIVA (total intravenous anesthesia) using computer controlled infusion pumps in a process called TCI (target controlled infusion). A target plasma concentration is entered as ng/mL into the pump, which calculates its infusion rate according to patient factors like age and weight. Induction levels of 40 ng/mL are commonly used, but it generally varies between 3–8 ng/mL. For certain surgical procedures that produce particularly strong stimuli a level of up to 15 ng/mL might be needed. The relatively short context-sensitive half-life of remifentanil allows the desired blood plasma level to be achieved quickly, and also for the same reason, recovery occurs quickly. This allows remifentanil to be used in unique circumstances such as cesarean section. Remifentanil's short context-sensitive half-life makes it ideal for intense pain of short duration. As such, it has been used for analgesia in labor successfully; however, it is not as effective as epidural analgesia. In combination with propofol, remifentanil is used for anesthesia of patients undergoing electroconvulsive therapy.
== Spin-off characters == Leslian Marie Gold (レスリー星人マリー・ゴールド, Resurī Seijin Marī Gōrudo): An S.P.D. officer from Planet Leslie with the power to temporarily stop time who serves as Deka Gold (デカゴールド, Deka Gōrudo) and appears exclusively in the film Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger The Movie: Full Blast Action. While working undercover as a nightclub singer to investigate the Gas Drinkers' attack on Leslie, she encounters and falls in love with Ban. Marie Gold is portrayed by Chiharu Niiyama (新山 千春, Niiyama Chiharu) while her singing voice is provided by Sae (小枝). Kight Reidlich (カイト・レイドリッヒ, Kaito Reidorihhi): The corrupt chief of the Space Police's Galactic District Police Bureau who appears exclusively in the direct-to-video anniversary special Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger: 10 Years After. Two years prior, Kruger discovered Reidlich had been selling confidential information to the space mafia Qurlian Family (キルリアンファミリー, Kirurian Famirī), but the latter captured him and used his Master License's Mirage Dimension to pose as Kruger and frame him for killing the Qurlians and their Clementian hostage. However, the hostage's daughter Carrie witnessed everything and seeks the Dekarangers' help in stopping Reidlich in the present. After the Dekarangers expose him and rescue Kruger, Reidlich sacrifices his underlings, Assam Asimov and Mugi Grafton, to power his Neo Hyper Muscle Gear and overwhelm the Dekarangers, only to be deleted by them and Deka Master. Kight Reidlich is voiced by Rikiya Koyama (小山 力也, Koyama Rikiya).
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
No. Epithalamin is a peptide-containing extract of bovine pineal glands, while epitalon is a single synthetic tetrapeptide. The extract contains many peptides and other tissue components, so its composition varies between batches in ways that a synthesised sequence does not.
It is not recognised as an endogenous peptide hormone. The four-residue sequence can appear inside larger proteins and in digestive fragments of dietary protein, but no dedicated pathway producing it as a signalling molecule has been identified.
Several cell-culture reports describe increased telomerase activity after treatment, measured by enzyme assays or by transcript levels. Results differ between cell types and laboratories, and measured telomere lengthening has been reported in some studies but not in others, which leaves the physiological relevance open.
No. Epithalamin is a heterogeneous peptide fraction obtained from pineal gland extract and contains many components. Epitalon is a single synthetic tetrapeptide with the sequence Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly. Researchers synthesised the shorter peptide while attempting to identify active sequences within the extract.