Pancragen
A four-amino-acid peptide (Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp, in the KEDW form characterized by Tarnovskaya 2013) developed for pancreatic indications. The one Khavinson synthetic peptide with a published mechanistic paper that names specific transcription factors (Pdx1, Ngn3, Pax6, Foxa2) it appears to upregulate.
1 · Identity
- Identity
- sequence-only / literature
- Aliases
- KEDA tetrapeptide (EN); Pancragenum (EN); Панкраген (RU_LATIN)
2 · Mechanism — what the primary literature actually shows
Synthetic tetrapeptide H-Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp-NH₂ (KEDW). The most striking direct finding: Tarnovskaya-Benberin 2013 showed that in ageing pancreatic cell cultures, KEDW INCREASES expression of pancreatic differentiation factors Ptf1a, Ngn3, Pdx1, Pax6, Foxa2, Nkx2.2, Pax4 — which normally decrease with age. This is the cleanest molecular mechanism of any Khavinson peptide — direct gene-expression regulation in a specific tissue. The compound is named for pancreas regeneration. Multipolar development: Tarnovskaya SI and Benberin VV at the Institute of Gerontology, Almaty, KAZAKHSTAN — not Russia. Note: search audit returns mostly PANCREATIN ENZYME papers (Gegechkori 2023 — proteolytic activity determination; Sviridenko 2020 — whey protein hydrolysates using pancreatin). These are NOT about pancragen the peptide. Relevance filter correctly demoted these to tangential.
How it works
Key findings (3)
- Ageing pancreatic cell cultures: KEDW (H-Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp-NH₂) INCREASES expression of differentiation factors Ptf1a, Ngn3, Pdx1, Pax6, Foxa2, Nkx2.2, Pax4 — normally decrease with age (Tarnovskaya-Benberin 2013, Institute of Gerontology, Almaty, Kazakhstan)
- Most "pancragen" search hits are PANCREATIN ENZYME papers — NOT the tetrapeptide. Filtered out as tangential.
- Chalikova 2025: proliferotropic peptide effects on immune organs — KEDW family peptides stimulate spleen + thyroid proliferation
Evidence quality
Moderate — single direct mechanistic paper (Tarnovskaya 2013) but it is exceptionally clean: gene-specific upregulation of pancreatic differentiation factors. The multipolar Kazakhstan collaboration (Institute of Gerontology, Almaty) is structurally important.
Open questions (5)
- Is the KEDW sequence actually present in the natural pancreas extract? (Or was KEDW derived from the chromatographic profile?)
- Clinical translation in diabetes mellitus — any?
- Why is the differentiation factor effect specific to pancreatic cells?
- Has this been independently replicated outside the Tarnovskaya lab?
- Most pancragen search results are PANCREATIN ENZYME — the peptide has minimal dedicated literature
3 · Summary
Design distribution
| Design | Count | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| CLINICAL_UNCONTROLLED | 2 | ██ |
| ANIMAL | 2 | ██ |
| UNGRADED | 2 | ██ |
4 · Possible mechanisms — candidate list
5 · Pathways — questions the corpus does not yet answer
- Pathway
- Falsification experiment for open question 1. Is the KEDW sequence actually present in the natural pancreas extract? (Or was KEDW derived from the chromatographic profile?)
- Blocked by
- See synthesis evidence quality section for barriers.
- Pathway
- Falsification experiment for open question 2. Clinical translation in diabetes mellitus — any?
- Blocked by
- See synthesis evidence quality section for barriers.
- Pathway
- Falsification experiment for open question 3. Why is the differentiation factor effect specific to pancreatic cells?
- Blocked by
- See synthesis evidence quality section for barriers.
- Pathway
- Falsification experiment for open question 4. Has this been independently replicated outside the Tarnovskaya lab?
- Blocked by
- See synthesis evidence quality section for barriers.
- Pathway
- Falsification experiment for open question 5. Most pancragen search results are PANCREATIN ENZYME — the peptide has minimal dedicated literature
- Blocked by
- See synthesis evidence quality section for barriers.
6 · Bibliography — Russian primary sources
- razrabotka-metodiki-kolichestvennogo-opredeleniya-proteoliticheskoy-aktivnosti-standartnogo-obraztsa-pankreatina
- tehnologicheskie-metody-uluchsheniya-funktsionalnyh-svoystv-gidrolizatov-dlya-spetsialnogo-i-detskogo-pitaniya
- tezisy-simpoziuma-polimorbidnost-v-geriatricheskoy-praktike-revmaticheskie-zabolevaniya-u-lyudey-starshego-vozrasta-i-vii-nauchno
- proliferotropnoe-vliyanie-peptidov-na-organy-immunnoy-sistemy-krys
- peptidergicheskaya-regulyatsiya-funktsiy-podzheludochnoy-zhelezy-pri-vozrastnoy-patologii
- fermentativnye-gidrolizaty-belkov-molochnoy-syvorotki-i-kurinogo-yaytsa-poluchenie-fiziko-himicheskaya-i-immunohimicheskaya
- fermentativnye-rybnye-belkovye-gidrolizaty-iz-othodov-pererabotki-atlanticheskoy-treski-vliyanie-tipa-i-kontsentratsii-fermenta
- korrektsiya-proyavleniy-eksperimentalnogo-metabolicheskogo-sindroma-u-krys-s-pomoschyu-nekotoryh-argininsoderzhaschih-peptidov
- opredelenie-usloviy-polucheniya-prirodnyh-bioaktivnyh-kazeinovyh-fosfopeptidov
- poluchenie-fermentativnogo-gidrolizata-izolyata-soevogo-belka
- podbor-usloviy-polucheniya-fermentativnogo-gidrolizata-iz-bulona-obrazuyuschegosya-pri-proizvodstve-kostnoy-muki
- lekarstvennye-peptidnye-preparaty-proshloe-nastoyaschee-buduschee
- vliyanie-usloviy-fermentatsii-belkov-moloka-na-peptidnyy-profil-gidrolizatov
- identifikatsiya-korotkih-peptidov-optimizatsiya-targetnyh-terapevticheskih-svoystv-lekarstvennogo-preparata-timusa
- nauchnye-issledovaniya-v-oblasti-gerontologii-i-geriatrii-v-desyatiletie-zdorovogo-stareniya-2021-2030
- proliferotropnoe-deystvie-sochetaniy-korotkih-peptidov-i-kodiruemyh-aminokislot-v-organotipicheskoy-kulture-tkaney-razlichnogo
- poluchenie-bioaktivnyh-peptidov-moloka-s-ispolzovaniem-izolirovannogo-fermentnogo-preparata
- vliyanie-prodolzhitelnosti-fermentativnogo-gidroliza-obezzhirennogo-moloka-i-molochnoy-syvorotki-na-urozhay-kletok-molochnokislyh
Inventor (detail): V.Kh. Khavinson lab (Tarnovskaya S.I., Benberin V.V. are clinical co-investigators at the Institute of Gerontology, Almaty, Kazakhstan).
First publication: mid-2000s (Khavinson lab); 2013 Tarnovskaya paper is the clearest primary citation on the molecular action.
Peptide kind: **Synthetic tetrapeptide** (H-Lys-Glu-Asp-Trp-NH₂, KEDW), 4 residues, derived from pancreatic polypeptide fraction.
Below: substantive excerpts from 5 Russian primary papers. Click each title to expand the Russian/English abstract.
5/6 papers with substantive abstracts · 9,268 characters of Russian/English pharmacological text extracted · 5 Russian abstracts · 5 English abstracts · 1/6 relevance-classified.
Extracted findings (2 models · 7 mechanism terms · direction: ↑3 ↓3 ↺0 across 5 papers)
- Model organisms
- in vitro
- Doses / concentrations
- —
- Mechanism terms
- апоптоза, иммунной системы, пролиферацией, пролиферации, пролиферацию, селезенка, селезенки
- Effect direction
- 3× increase · 3× decrease · 0× restoration/normalisation
[2023] РАЗРАБОТКА МЕТОДИКИ КОЛИЧЕСТВЕННОГО ОПРЕДЕЛЕНИЯ ПРОТЕОЛИТИЧЕСКОЙ АКТИВНОСТИ СТАНДАРТНОГО ОБРАЗЦА ПАНКРЕАТИНА
[2020] Технологические методы улучшения функциональных свойств гидролизатов для специального и детского питания
[2025] Пролиферотропное влияние пептидов на органы иммунной системы крыс
[2013] Пептидергическая регуляция функций поджелудочной железы при возрастной патологии
[2020] Ферментативные гидролизаты белков молочной сыворотки и куриного яйца: получение, физико-химическая и иммунохимическая ха
7 · Bibliography — PubMed corpus
8 · Corroboration
- Corpus source
- PubMed (eutils) and OpenAlex, swept against this compound by PMID. Last verified 26.08.2026.
- Identity source
- PubChem CID — verified live. InChIKey —. Live fetch on 26.08.2026.
- Provenance
- St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology (2003) Khavinson VKh — Pancreas tetrapeptide; metabolic cytogen
9 · Open questions
- Zero A- or B-grade evidence in the corpus. No registered RCT with disclosed n.
- Most of the published evidence for this compound is from the group that developed it. Where independent replication exists, we flag it in the mechanism block above; where it doesn't, treat mechanism claims as developer-side.