Crystagen bioregulator peptide (Khavinson school). Limited CyberLeninka record; full source PDFs preserved in the dossier.
mechanism confidence: medium
Synthetic peptide from the Khavinson school, related to thymus biology. Mechanism: in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from healthy donors, crystagen INCREASES IL-18 production (Maksimenia 2016. direct comparison with vilon, epithalon, endoluten, vladonix, cortexin). Crystagen belongs to the immunogeroprotective peptide family. Khavinson-school peptides that reduce apoptosis in spleen cells during ageing (Chervjakova-Pronjaeva-Kostylev-Trofimova 2013) and modulate macrophage subpopulations in ageing immune system (Dudkov-Pronjaeva-Chervjakova-Trofimova 2013). The T-38 peptide (which crystagen is closely related to) reduces spleen apoptosis. Proliferotropic effect on spleen + thyroid explants (Chalikova-Nikitina-Ryzhak-Ivanova-Egozova 2025): Lys-Asp-Glu-Gly, Glu-Asp-Pro, Glu-Asp-Arg, Lys-Glu-Asp all statistically significantly stimulate proliferation.
- Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells: crystagen increases IL-18 production; vladonix and endoluten also increase IL-18; vilon accelerates TNF-α; endoluten increases IL-4; vilon/vladonix/epithalon reduce IL-1 RA (Maksimenia-Fefelova-Bykova 2016)
- Adjacent: immunomodulating peptides reduce spleen cell apoptosis during ageing (Chervjakova 2013); regulate macrophage subpopulations in ageing immune system (Dudkov 2013)
- Adjacent: peptides Lys-Asp-Glu-Gly, Glu-Asp-Pro, Glu-Asp-Arg, Lys-Glu-Asp stimulate proliferation in spleen + thyroid explants (Chalikova 2025)
- Applied context: Gazprom Urengoy workers. molecular-genetic testing followed by peptide bioregulation reduced morbidity in Far North climate (Trofimova 2016)
- Sport context: bioregulating correction of adaptation reserves in elite gymnasts using short peptides (Viner-Terekhina-Trofimova-Trofimov 2012)
grade: Low-moderate. The cytokine production study (Maksimenia) is one of the cleanest direct mechanistic findings for a Khavinson tetrapeptide. shows class-level immune effects with distinct peptide-specific cytokine signatures. Most other "crystagen" papers are from the same Khavinson school but treat multiple peptides in parallel.
- IL-18 upregulation is the strongest direct mechanism. what is the receptor and signaling cascade?
- Why are peptide-specific cytokine signatures so distinct? (vilon→TNFα, endoluten→IL-4, crystagen→IL-18)
- Clinical translation beyond the Far North worker cohort
no PubMed-indexed literature in the corpus.
Reviewed against the archive corpora on 2026-09-16. Source-grounded. No clinical claims. Synthesis prose may preserve published experimental context from papers; that is research history, not a recommendation.