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Background And Peptide Identity — Quick Reference

By Editorial Desk · published 2026-07-03 · last reviewed 2026-07-27 · Guide

If you have been reading about Enkephalinase and want a single page that covers the useful parts, this is it: definitions, context, how it is studied, and the questions that come up repeatedly.

Last reviewed on 2026-07-27. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.

Background and Peptide Identity

Reported activity for Selank centers on anxiolytic and nootropic effects. Russian clinical reports describe use in anxiety and in cognitive or attention-related complaints. Most of this evidence comes from studies conducted by the same research groups that developed the peptide. Independent replication in other countries remains limited, and no major Western regulatory agency has approved the compound for any indication. The gap between local reports and external verification is a recurring point in discussions of the peptide.

Tuftsin, the parent structure, is a naturally occurring immunomodulatory tetrapeptide released from the Fc region of immunoglobulin G by spleen enzymes. Selank extends this four-residue sequence with three additional amino acids. The stated rationale is that the added tail slows enzymatic breakdown and may influence receptor interactions. How the full heptapeptide behaves at the molecular level is not firmly established, and proposed mechanisms often involve indirect modulation of neurotransmitter or immune signaling rather than a single defined target.

Selank Origin and Chemical Identity

Regulatory status differs sharply by region. Selank holds a Russian marketing authorization, where it is supplied mainly as nasal drops, while authorities elsewhere have not approved it for medical use. Material sold internationally is therefore usually labeled as a research chemical rather than a medicine. Peer-reviewed publications come predominantly from Russian laboratories, and sample sizes are generally small. Whether the compound produces comparable effects under independent, well-controlled replication remains an open question that the broader literature has not settled.

Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide developed in Russia as a structural analogue of tuftsin, a naturally occurring immunomodulatory tetrapeptide. Its sequence, Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, keeps the tuftsin core at the N-terminus and appends a Pro-Gly-Pro tail. Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow synthesized the compound during the 1990s while searching for peptides with combined anxiolytic and immunomodulatory activity. The added tail was intended to resist enzymatic cleavage and prolong the molecule's presence in circulation.

The compound has a calculated molecular weight near 751.9 daltons and carries a net positive charge at physiological pH because of its arginine residue. It dissolves freely in water and in common aqueous buffers, and typically appears as a white or off-white lyophilized powder. The amide backbone makes the molecule susceptible to peptidases, which limits oral use and favors intranasal or parenteral routes. Nomenclature in the literature varies: the substance is also described by the sequence abbreviation TP-7 and by a Russian trade designation.

Selank at a glance

PropertyValueNotes
Chemical classSynthetic heptapeptideModeled on tuftsin
Amino acid sequenceThr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-ProSeven residues
Approximate molecular massAround 750 DaDepends on counter-ion and hydration
Common formsLyophilized powderAlso described as aqueous solution
Primary origin of researchRussian laboratoriesMid-1990s onward

Origins and Proposed Mechanisms

Published clinical evidence is limited. Most controlled trials were conducted in Russia, enrolled modest numbers of participants, and appeared in Russian-language journals, which restricts independent verification. Reported outcomes include lower anxiety scores, improved attention and memory measures, and changes in fatigue ratings. Reviews written in English note methodological limitations such as small samples and inconsistent endpoints. Whether the compound produces clinically meaningful benefit relative to established anxiolytics is therefore an open question rather than an established finding.

Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro. It was designed at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences as a structural analogue of tuftsin, a naturally occurring tetrapeptide fragment of the immunoglobulin heavy chain. The added Pro-Gly-Pro tail was intended to slow enzymatic degradation and extend biological activity. In Russia it is registered as an anxiolytic nasal preparation, while regulators elsewhere have not approved it for clinical use.

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Peptide Identity and Structure

The compound was designed at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences during the 1980s and 1990s. The stated design goal was to retain the immunomodulatory and central nervous system activity attributed to tuftsin while improving resistance to enzymatic breakdown. Adding a proline-rich tail to the short parent peptide was a deliberate strategy, because proline residues restrict the conformations available to many peptidases. The same laboratory produced Semax, an ACTH fragment analog, and both compounds were developed in parallel as short, enzymatically stabilized peptides intended for intranasal use.

Selank is not a naturally occurring peptide and has no known endogenous counterpart in human physiology. Russian-language sources frequently call it TP-7, while English-language sources use the name Selank almost exclusively. Database indexing is uneven, partly because early reports appeared in regional journals that are not widely cataloged. Some summaries describe the material as a tuftsin analog and others as a synthetic heptapeptide; the labels overlap rather than conflict. Citing the primary sequence resolves ambiguity more reliably than the research or trade name alone.

Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, written TKPRPGP in one-letter notation. Its structure consists of the immunomodulatory tetrapeptide tuftsin, Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg, extended at the carboxyl terminus by a Pro-Gly-Pro segment. The molecular formula is commonly given as C33H57N11O9, corresponding to a monoisotopic mass near 751.4 Da and an average molecular mass near 751.9 Da. All seven residues are proteinogenic amino acids, and the molecule carries no modified side chains or non-natural linkages.

Reference notes

Chlorpromazine is a very effective antagonist of D2 dopamine receptors and similar receptors, such as D3 and D5. Unlike most other drugs of this genre, it also has a high affinity for D1 receptors. Blocking these receptors causes diminished neurotransmitter binding in the forebrain, resulting in many different effects. Dopamine, unable to bind with a receptor, causes a feedback loop that causes dopaminergic neurons to release more dopamine. Therefore, upon first taking the drug, patients will experience an increase in dopaminergic neural activity. Eventually, dopamine production in the neurons will drop substantially and dopamine will be removed from the synaptic cleft. At this point, neural activity decreases greatly; the continual blockade of receptors only compounds this effect. Chlorpromazine acts as an antagonist (blocking agent) on different postsynaptic and presynaptic receptors:

Grainyhead-like genes are a family of highly conserved transcription factors that are functionally and structurally homologous across a large number of vertebrate and invertebrate species. For an estimated 100 million years or more, this genetic family has been evolving alongside life to fine tune the regulation of epithelial barrier integrity during development, fine-tuning epithelial barrier establishment, maintenance and subsequent homeostasis. The three main orthologues, Grainyhead-like 1, 2 and 3, regulate numerous genetic pathways within different organisms and perform analogous roles between them, ranging from neural tube closure, wound healing, establishment of the craniofacial skeleton and repair of the epithelium. When Grainyhead-like genes are impaired, due to genetic mutations in embryogenesis, it will cause the organism to present with developmental defects that largely affect ectodermal (and sometimes also endodermal) tissues in which they are expressed. These subsequent congenital disorders, including cleft lip and exencephaly, vary greatly in their severity and impact on the quality of life for the affected individual. There is much still to learn about the function of these genes and the more complex roles of Grainyhead-like genes are yet to be discovered.

One method of feeding libraries into the microfluidic device uses single cell encapsulation, in which droplets contain a maximum of one cell each. This avoids confounding results that could be generated by having multiple cells, and consequently multiple genotypes, in a single droplet, while maximizing the efficiency of resource consumption. This method enables the detection of secreted proteins and proteins on the cell membrane. The addition of a cell lysate to the droplets, which breaks down the cellular membrane such that the intracellular species are freely available within the droplet, expands the capabilities of the single cell encapsulation method to analyze intracellular proteins. The library can also be made entirely in vitro (i.e., not in its biological/cellular context) such that the content of the droplet is exclusively a mutated DNA strand. The in vitro system requires PCR and the use of in vitro transcription and translation (IVTT) systems to generate the desired protein in the droplet for analysis. Sorting of droplets for directed evolution is primarily done by fluorescence detection (e.g., fluorescence-activated droplet sorting (FADS)), however recent developments in a absorbance-based sorting methods, known as absorbance-activated droplet sorting (AADS), have expanded the diversity of substrates that can undergo directed evolution through a droplet-based microfluidic device. Recently, sorting capability has even expanded to the detection of NADPH levels and has been used to create higher activity NADP-dependent oxidoreductases.

MLSE and NBA had applied to register the Raptor's logo Raptors, a basketball with three diagonal claw gashes, for various goods and services. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board dismissed Monster's claim. In March 2016, Monster filed a lawsuit to revoke the company trademark of Thunder Beast LLC of Washington, D.C., a small root beer brewery, insisting the use of "beast" in the company name encroached on Monster's trademark slogan, "Unleash the Beast". The owner of Thunder Beast, Stephen Norberg, was fighting Monster's lawsuit as of 2019. In August 2018, Monsta Pizza of Wendover in Buckinghamshire, United Kingdom, fought a claim brought by Monster Energy in the Intellectual Property Office. The claim was that the pizza firm could be mistaken for Monster Energy, leaving customers confused. The pizza firm won a landmark ruling against Monster Energy, when the court decided there would be no case of misrepresentation. In fact, Monster Energy loses many of their lawsuits; however, as with other cases of "trademark bullying", the main goal of the lawsuit seems to be bankrupting the opposition at which they are quite successful. Also in 2018, Monster Energy brought a lawsuit against Vital Pharmaceuticals Inc. (VPX), then producer of Bang Energy, a competitor of Monster Energy. The lawsuit alleged false advertising as well as theft of trade secrets. The matter concluded with a jury verdict in favor of Monster Energy.

Doillon started acting at age five, starring in Kung Fu Master directed by Agnès Varda. She has since worked with directors including Jean Pierre Améris, Jacques Doillon, Guillaume Canet, Abel Ferrara and Maïwenn.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reference notes

== Bronchodilators == Arformoterol Bitolterol Epinephrine Fenoterol Formoterol Ipratropium Isoetharine Isoproterenol Levalbuterol Metaproterenol Pirbuterol Procaterol Racepinephrine (racemic epinephrine) Salbutamol Salmeterol Terbutaline Tiotropium

== Dynamical features == Alpha-helices in proteins may have low-frequency accordion-like motion as observed by the Raman spectroscopy and analyzed via the quasi-continuum model. Helices not stabilized by tertiary interactions show dynamic behavior, which can be mainly attributed to helix fraying from the ends.

=== Urban legend === An urban legend suggests that tetryzoline can cause violent diarrhea if given orally, such as by putting a few drops of Visine in an unsuspecting person's beverage. However, the actual results of the prank may be worse, varying from severe nausea and vomiting to seizures or a coma. Larger doses can cause death. Diarrhea is not a side effect.

== Advantages over ordinary monoclonal antibodies == Cancer immunotherapy with ordinary monoclonal antibodies does not activate T-lymphocytes because the Fab regions are already used for binding the tumor cells, and this type of cell does not have Fc receptors. Bispecific antibodies also have a higher cytotoxic potential, and bind to antigens that are expressed relatively weakly. The effective dose is around 0.01 mg·m−2·d−1 (milligrams per square meter body surface area per day), which is several orders of magnitude lower than with ordinary antibodies. For non-IgG-like BsAbs, their smaller size allows them to reach antigens usually unavailable to conventional antibodies. In the case of Ebola vaccines, this method allows the antibody to target intracellular targets not usually accessible by traditional monoclonal antibody treatments. Additionally, targeting more than one molecule can be useful to circumvent the regulation of parallel pathways and avoid resistance to the treatment. Binding or blocking multiple targets in a pathway can be beneficial to stopping disease, as most conditions have complicated multifaceted effects throughout the body. Together with combination therapies, BsAbs are being used more and more to treat certain types of cancers, as, over time, some tumors develop resistances to checkpoint inhibitors and/or co-stimulatory molecules.

Amy Walter, editor of the nonpartisan The Cook Political Report, also argued that the electoral environment was inherently difficult for Harris because the top issue for voters was inflation during the Biden-Harris administration. Ronald Brownstein of The Atlantic, who spoke with members of Harris's campaign, argued that the extent of Biden's unpopularity and public discontent with the economy proved too much for Harris to overcome. Brownstein compared the election to the 1968 presidential election (when unpopular incumbent Lyndon B. Johnson withdrew from the race and Vice President Hubert Humphrey lost to Richard Nixon) and the 1980 presidential election (when unpopular incumbent Jimmy Carter lost to Ronald Reagan due to stagflation and the 1970s energy crisis). Members of Harris' campaign stated after the election that their internal polling never showed Harris ahead of Trump and they did not believe that Harris was the favorite to win the election. David Plouffe, a senior campaign advisor to Harris, claimed that even making the race competitive was a win for Harris' staff. The opportunity to elect Harris as the first female U.S. president proved to be less important to voters than issues like the economy and immigration. Results of VoteCast, as reported by Fox News, find that 13% of voters chose "the fact that Kamala Harris would be the first female president" as the single most important factor to their vote. Even so, polls have shown that voters support backing a female candidate while also acknowledging the challenges they might face on the campaign trail.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reference notes

=== History === Dreyer, Edward L. (1995). China at War: 1901–1949. Pearson Longman. ISBN 9780582051232. Fravel, M. Taylor (2019). Active Defense: China's Military Strategy Since 1949. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691210339. Li, Xiaobing (2007). A History of the Modern Chinese Army. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813172248. Whitson, William W.; Huang, Zhenxia; Chên-hsia, Huang (1973). The Chinese High Command: A History of Communist Military Politics, 1927–71. Praeger. ISBN 978-0333150535.

== Non-senescence == Daniel Martinez claimed in an article in Experimental Gerontology in 1998 that Hydra are biologically immortal. This publication has been widely cited as evidence that Hydra do not senesce (i.e., do not age), and that they are proof of the existence of non-senescing organisms generally. The controversial unlimited lifespan of Hydra has attracted much attention from scientists. In 2010, Preston Estep published (also in Experimental Gerontology) a letter to the editor arguing that the Martinez data refutes the hypothesis that Hydra do not senesce. Other research from the 2010s appears to confirm Martinez's study by finding Hydra stem cells have a capacity for indefinite self-renewal. The transcription factor "forkhead box O" (FoxO) has been identified as a critical driver of the continuous self-renewal of Hydra. In experiments, a drastically reduced population growth resulted from FoxO downregulation. In bilaterally symmetrical organisms (Bilateria), the transcription factor FoxO affects stress response, lifespan, and increase in stem cells. If this transcription factor is knocked down in bilaterian model organisms, such as fruit flies and nematodes, their lifespan is significantly decreased. In experiments on H. vulgaris (a radially symmetrical member of phylum Cnidaria), when FoxO levels were decreased, there was a negative effect on many key features of the Hydra, but no death was observed, thus it is believed other factors may contribute to the apparent lack of aging in these creatures.

This process has also been observed in simulations of transthyretin and implicated as occurring naturally in certain protein families by examination of their dihedral angle conformations in crystal structures. It is suggested that alpha-sheet folds into multi-strand solenoids.

The first location opened in 2003 at 2120 N. College Avenue in Fayetteville, Arkansas, inside a building formerly home to a sushi restaurant. In 2005, the second location opened in the nearby city of Rogers. The chain's expansion accelerated in 2008 with five more company-owned locations opening in Arkansas and Oklahoma. In 2013, the first franchise location was opened in Texarkana, Arkansas, by businessman Greg McKay. The company has since expanded with more than 100 locations in 19 states, with international locations in the UK and Kuwait. The 100th location opened in Little Rock, Arkansas, on December 18, 2020.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Frequently asked questions

What type of molecule is Selank?

Selank is a synthetic peptide made of seven amino acids. It is modeled on tuftsin, a natural tetrapeptide, with an added three-residue tail. It is not a small-molecule drug.

Where was Selank developed?

It originates from research in Russia, associated with the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The first descriptions date to the mid-1990s. Most published studies come from Russian laboratories.

Is Selank found in nature?

No, Selank itself does not occur naturally. Its backbone is based on tuftsin, which is produced in the body, but the seven-residue version is a synthetic construct. It is supplied as a manufactured peptide.

What is Selank?

Selank is a synthetic seven-amino-acid peptide modeled on tuftsin, a fragment of the immunoglobulin G heavy chain. It was designed in Russia to combine anxiolytic and immunomodulatory properties in one molecule.

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