Livagen

Livagen is a synthetic tetrapeptide (Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala, also written KEDA) from Khavinson's short-peptide programme at the St Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. It was designed from the amino acid make-up of peptide preparations extracted from liver. Most published work is in cells. In white blood cells (lymphocytes) taken from people aged 75 to 88 and grown in the lab, Livagen was reported to loosen tightly packed chromatin, the DNA and protein packaging that keeps some genes switched off (Khavinson et al., 2002). Other studies reported higher protein production in cultured rat liver cells, most clearly in cells from old rats (Brodsky et al., 2001), changes in gut enzyme activity in young and old rats, and, in test tubes, blocking of enzymes in human serum that break down enkephalins, the body's own opioid peptides. The evidence base is small. Most papers come from Khavinson's group and partners, including a genetics group in Tbilisi, Georgia, and many are in Russian-language journals. We found no published human trials. The chromatin work was done in blood cells, not liver cells as older descriptions say. Whether these lab findings apply to living animals or people is not known. Supplied for laboratory research use only.