What it is
Prostamax is a peptide made of 4 amino acids: lysine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and proline. It is made in a lab. It comes from Vladimir Khavinson's research network in Russia. The group assigns it to the prostate. It is not the same as Vitaprost or Samprost. Those are drugs made from cow prostate extract, and their studies do not apply to Prostamax. See the Cardiogen entry for a peptide tested in the same organ study. Other names: KEDP, Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro.
What researchers study it for
- Prostate tissue growth in lab cultures from rats
- Tightly packed DNA in white blood cells from older people
- How the peptide changes DNA structure
- How short peptides attach to DNA
What the studies found
1. Rat prostate tissue grew more in a dish.
A 2006 study tested four peptides on tissue from four organs of young and old rats. Prostamax made prostate tissue grow in both age groups. Each of the other peptides worked on its own assigned organ. This is the only study of Prostamax on the prostate. Lab tissue from rats only.
2. Tightly packed DNA loosened in white blood cells from older people.
A 2012 study treated white blood cells from people aged 75 to 86 with Prostamax in a dish. Areas of tightly packed DNA on two chromosomes got smaller. Swaps between copies of the same chromosome went from 5.9 to 12 per cell. The authors say the loosened DNA let silenced genes turn back on. Human cells in a lab only.
3. DNA in human white blood cells came apart at lower heat.
Scientists can measure how tightly DNA is packed by heating it. Tighter DNA needs more heat to come apart. In a 2004 study, human white blood cells treated with Prostamax needed less heat. The authors say the DNA had partly unwound. Human cells in a lab only.
4. An outside lab found peptides like it change how stable DNA is.
A 2015 study from a separate Russian lab tested how amino acids and short peptides affect DNA. Prostamax and similar short peptides changed the heat needed to pull DNA strands apart. Computer models showed glutamic acid could sit in a groove of the DNA and break bonds between strands. Lab and computer data.
How much research exists
One rat tissue study on the prostate. A few studies on DNA structure in human white blood cells. Almost all come from the Khavinson network and partners in Georgia. No animal study in a living body and no human trial has been published.
Facts
- Formula: C20H33N5O9
- Weight: about 488 g/mol
- CAS number: 473578-47-1 (could not confirm)
- Sequence: Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro
- Time in the blood: never measured
- Storage: powder in the freezer.
Legal status
Not approved by the FDA or any other agency for human use.
For research use only. Not for human use. Nothing here is medical advice.