ACTH(4-10) comes up often in conversation and rarely with the context attached. Here we lay out the basics in order, then work through the practical considerations.
Updated 2026-04-19. Numbers and descriptions here follow the published literature rather than marketing material.
Reported pharmacological work centers on neurotrophic signaling, including changes in BDNF and NGF expression in hippocampal tissue in animal models. Human data come largely from studies conducted in Russia, and how well those results generalize to other populations remains an open question. Regulatory status differs sharply by jurisdiction: Semax is a registered prescription medicine in Russia, while it holds no approved marketing status in the United States or the European Union. Outside such jurisdictions it is generally handled as a research chemical, which affects both documentation and quality expectations.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide whose sequence is Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. It was developed as a fragment analog of adrenocorticotropic hormone, modeled specifically on the ACTH(4-10) region. The first four residues reproduce that fragment, while a Pro-Gly-Pro tripeptide is appended at the C-terminus. Work on the compound originated in Russia, where it entered clinical use as an intranasal preparation. Its sequence places it among short regulatory peptides studied for effects on the central nervous system rather than on the adrenal axis.
The C-terminal Pro-Gly-Pro extension is not incidental. Proline-rich tails are known to resist several common peptidases, and the published literature attributes the longer half-life of Semax, relative to unmodified ACTH fragments, to this feature. The modification also removes the melanocyte-stimulating and corticosteroidogenic activity that characterizes longer ACTH-derived sequences. Because the molecule is small and hydrophilic, it is typically formulated as an aqueous solution for intranasal or parenteral delivery. Acetylation or amidation at the termini appears in closely related research peptides and shifts the mass by a fixed increment.
Material sold for laboratory use varies widely in stated purity and documentation. A certificate of analysis should list the analytical method, the column and detector used, and the observed purity value. Independent verification by an outside laboratory is the practical way to confirm identity when documentation is absent or internally inconsistent. Regulatory status differs by country, and a product legal in one jurisdiction may be unapproved or controlled in another.
Identity and purity of semax are established with reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to ultraviolet detection, usually at 214 nanometres. Mass spectrometry, most often electrospray ionisation in positive mode, confirms the molecular mass and reveals truncated sequences. Amino acid analysis and peptide mapping after enzymatic digestion provide additional structural confirmation. Laboratories typically report purity as the percentage area of the main peak, a figure that does not capture isomeric or oxidised variants unless the method resolves them.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular weight | ~813.9 Da (free heptapeptide) | N-acetylated form is about 42 Da heavier |
| Residue count | 7 (heptapeptide) | Four residues from ACTH(4-10), three added |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Usually supplied lyophilized |
| Solubility class | Freely soluble in water | Also dissolves in DMSO and polar organic solvents |
| Related parent fragment | ACTH(4-10) | Parent motif is Met-Glu-His-Phe |
The compound was developed during the 1980s at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow as part of research on fragments of adrenocorticotropic hormone. Early work examined short ACTH-derived sequences that retained neurotrophic effects while lacking the endocrine activity of the full hormone. Semax entered clinical use in Russia during the 1990s, where it received registration for several neurological indications. Outside that region it remained primarily a laboratory research material rather than an approved therapeutic. English-language literature on it grew more slowly and frequently cited the original Russian studies.
Terminology around the compound varies by source. It appears in catalogues and papers as Semax, as the heptapeptide ACTH(4-7)-Pro-Gly-Pro, and under various alphanumeric laboratory codes used by individual suppliers. These names refer to the same sequence but may imply different salt forms, purity grades, or counter-ions. Peptide databases usually list the free base mass, while product descriptions sometimes report acetate or trifluoroacetate salts with a different formula weight. Because naming conventions for research peptides are not standardised across vendors, checking the declared sequence and measured mass is more reliable than relying on a trade name alone.
Semax is a synthetic heptapeptide with the sequence Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro. Its design combines the ACTH(4-7) core fragment with a C-terminal Pro-Gly-Pro extension, a modification intended to improve stability and prolong activity. The molecule is hydrophilic, carries no lipid chains or glycosylation, and has a theoretical mass just over 810 daltons in its free form. All seven residues are proteinogenic amino acids, so no non-natural building blocks appear in the backbone. A free N-terminal methionine and C-terminal proline define the unmodified parent peptide.
Pharmacokinetic accounts emphasize rapid breakdown. After intravenous dosing the intact peptide disappears from blood within minutes, and nasal delivery produces low but measurable concentrations. Metabolites rather than the parent molecule may account for part of the observed activity, although the relative contribution is unresolved. Dosing in the literature varies widely and no optimal schedule has been agreed. These gaps are regularly cited as a reason the findings have not produced broad clinical adoption beyond the original research setting.
Proposed mechanisms center on neurotrophic signaling rather than on classical melanocortin receptor activation. Rodent experiments have reported shifts in the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and nerve growth factor after administration, together with changes in the associated receptor systems. Several authors argue that the peptide acts largely through its degradation products and their interaction with peptidergic pathways, but this remains a hypothesis rather than a settled finding. No single molecular target has been identified in a way that the field broadly accepts.
When most of the alar lobule tissue is missing, the nose collapses; the correction is with an ear concha cartilage-graft harvested from the antihelix, a donor site where the cartilage is most rigidly curved, thus is ideal for replacing an alar lobule. Nasal skin defects can be corrected with a medially based bilobed flap, which is emplaced to provide adequate skin coverage for wounds limited to the alar lobule. If the entire lobule is missing, it might be necessary to leave the second-lobe donor-site wound partially open; it will close at 2–4 weeks post-operative; afterwards, the scar can be revised. Nonetheless, the alternative surgical correction is a two-stage, superiorly based, nasolabial flap. If the alar lobule defect also comprehends the lateral wall of the nose, the defect can be closed either with a superiorly based nasolabial-flap or with a forehead flap. If the cheek skin is thin and atrophic, a nasolabial flap is the recommended reconstruction; otherwise, a forehead flap is recommended, because the thickness of forehead skin is a superior match for nasal skin and tissue. Mucosal lining defects of the alar lobule can be resurfaced with a bipedicled mucosal advancement-flap harvested from inside the lateral wall of the nose. Likewise, larger defects of the mucosa do require correction with an anteriorly based septal mucosal flap. III.
In October 2013, A&W opened its first new concept restaurant, A&W Burgers Chicken Floats. The new concept focuses on fresh made-to-order food and heavily emphasizes customer service. The menu features burgers made with fresh beef and a choice of toppings, hand-breaded chicken tenders, all-beef hot dogs, and several sides. The new management gave A&W a significant boost in the number of locations, with 2017 scheduled to have more openings than closures. For 2018, A&W projected an increase in its franchising operations and opening new restaurants. In April 2019, A&W returned to Singapore after a 16-year absence, its first location being at Jewel Changi Airport. In June 2019, the A&W chain started moving its headquarters to the University of Kentucky Coldstream Research Campus in 2019. A&W announced in March 2022 that it was going to withdraw from the Thai market due to economic losses. The restaurants shut down on March 20. A franchise was given to western New York in early 2023, with three locations, the first of which in Niagara Falls, set to open between May and June of that year. There are nearly 1,000 A&W Restaurants worldwide that are owned or franchised through A Great American Brand, with approximately 475 of these restaurants located in the U.S. as of October 2024. A&W rebounded its profits in the first half of 2024, emphasis on its growth is given mainly to single-brand restaurants, as well as restaurants in less conventional locations. In November 2024, the chain announced its entrance to the Milwaukee and Madison markets in Wisconsin.
=== Special requirement food === The Modular Operational Rations Enhancement (MORE) is issued as a supplement to meals for troops in extreme, demanding operational environments such as high-intensity training events. The Tailored Operational Training Meal (TOTM) first entered service in May 2001. It provides a lower calorie count (an average of 997 kilocalories) for less intensive training environments, such as classroom instruction. It replaces the earlier mess-hall bagged lunches, catered meals or field kitchens for field instruction. The TOTM allows troops to become familiar with the MRE and its contents without providing an excessive amount of calories to troops who will not necessarily burn them. It uses a transparent outer plastic bag with commercial markings rather than the MRE's tan plastic bag with standard markings. There are currently 3 different lists of twelve menus, making a total of 36 different meals. Each TOTM ration case is packed with a full menu of 12 assorted meals, weighs about 20 lbs (9 kg), and is 0.95 cubic feet (27 L). The TOTM has a more limited shelf-life than the MRE, with a duration of only 12 to 18 months. The Unitized Group Ration (UGR) is a ration much like the MRE, but expanded to feed large groups. It is the successor to the older A-ration, B-ration, and T-ration. It comes packed in sealed metal trays that are heated and then opened. The Food Packet, Survival, General Purpose, Improved (FPSGPI) is given to pilots and other servicemembers that may require a small, extremely portable food ration for emergencies.
A reduction of basal at night to prevent low blood sugar in infants and toddlers. An increase of basal at night to counteract high blood sugar levels due to growth hormone in teenagers. A pre-dawn increase to prevent high blood sugar due to the dawn effect in adults and teens. In a proactive plan before regularly scheduled exercise times such as morning gym for elementary school children or after-school basketball practice for high school children.
== Development of penicillin derivatives == The narrow range of treatable diseases or "spectrum of activity" of the penicillins, along with the poor activity of the orally active penicillin V, led to the search for derivatives of penicillin that could treat a wider range of infections. The isolation of 6-APA, the nucleus of penicillin, allowed for the preparation of semisynthetic penicillins, with various improvements over benzylpenicillin. Ampicillin was developed by the Beecham Research Laboratories in London. When introduced to clinical use in 1961 it was the first semisynthetic penicillin that could be taken orally that was effective against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, whereas the original was only effective against Gram-positive.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Extractable nuclear antigens === Extractable nuclear antigens (ENA) are a group of autoantigens that were originally identified as antibody targets in people with autoimmune disorders. They are termed ENA because they can be extracted from the cell nucleus with saline. The ENAs consist of ribonucleoproteins and non-histone proteins, named by either the name of the donor who provided the prototype serum (Sm, Ro, La, Jo), or the name of the disease setting in which the antibodies were found (SS-A, SS-B, Scl-70).
Díaz Herrera considered using the uproar around Spadafora to seize power during a brief period that Noriega was traveling outside the country, but despite mobilizing some troops, eventually decided against following through with the coup, realizing he could not count on sufficient support. Furthermore, Noriega had made a deal with his deputy, to the effect that he would step down as military leader in 1987 and allow Díaz Herrera to succeed him. In 1987, however, Noriega went back on this agreement, announced he would be heading the military for the next five years, and assigned Díaz Herrera to a diplomatic post. Díaz Herrera retaliated by making public statements accusing Noriega of rigging the 1984 election, murdering Spadafora, and of trafficking in drugs, as well as of assassinating Torrijos with a bomb on his plane. Díaz Herrera's statements provoked huge protests against Noriega, with 100,000 people, approximately 25% of the population of Panama City, marching in protest on June 26, 1987. As with Spadafora's murder, these incidents strengthened and brought together the internal opposition to Noriega. Noriega charged Díaz Herrera with treason, and cracked down hard on the protesters. The U.S. Senate passed a resolution asking Noriega to step down until Díaz Herrera could be tried; in response Noriega sent government workers to protest outside the U.S. embassy, a protest which quickly turned into a riot. As a result, the U.S. suspended all military assistance to Panama, and the CIA stopped paying Noriega a salary.
Diazoxide, sold under the brand name Proglycem among others, is a medication used to treat low blood sugar due to a number of specific causes. This includes islet cell tumors that cannot be removed and leucine sensitivity. It can also be used in refractory cases of sulfonylurea toxicity. It is taken by mouth. Diazoxide, used as the salt diazoxide choline, and sold under the brand name Vykat XR, is used for the treatment of hyperphagia in people with Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS). It was approved for this use in the United States in March 2025. Common side effects include high blood sugar, fluid retention, low blood platelets, a fast heart rate, increased hair growth, and nausea. Other severe side effects include pulmonary hypertension and heart failure. It is chemically similar to thiazide diuretics. It works by decreasing insulin release from the pancreas and increasing glucose release by the liver. Diazoxide was approved for medical use in the United States in 1973. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. It is available as a generic medication.
=== PHLWiki === In June 2006, Planet Half-Life began its own wiki project based on MediaWiki. The PHLWiki contained over a hundred articles dealing with fictional Half-Life characters, creatures and locations in an in-universe, encyclopedic form as well as real life articles on mods, player terminology and strategy guides. Before being announced publicly, most of the existing pages, particularly articles making up the fictional encyclopedia, were written by PHL staff writers. The PHLWiki has since shut down.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Cerebral folate deficiency (CFD) is a syndrome in which concentrations of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF) are low in the brain as measured in the cerebral spinal fluid despite being normal in the blood. Symptoms typically appear at about 5 to 24 months of age. Without treatment there may be poor muscle tone, trouble with coordination, trouble talking, and seizures. One cause of cerebral folate deficiency is a mutation in a gene responsible for folate transport, specifically FOLR1. This is inherited in an autosomal recessive manner. Other causes include Kearns–Sayre syndrome,, autoantibodies to the folate receptor FOLR1, and metabolic errors such as 5,10-methenyltetrahydrofolate synthetase deficiency. For people with the FOLR1 mutation, even when the systemic deficiency is corrected by folate, the cerebral deficiency remains and must be treated with folinic acid. Success depends on early initiation of treatment for lengthy periods. Fewer than 20 people with the FOLR1 defect have been described in the medical literature.
All lactic acid bacteria (LAB) involved in winemaking, whether as a positive contributor or as a source for potential faults, have the ability to produce lactic acid through the metabolism of a sugar source, as well as the metabolism of L-malic acid. Species differ in how they metabolise the available sugars in wine (both glucose and fructose, as well as the unfermentable pentoses that wine yeasts do not consume). Some bacteria species use the sugars through a homofermentative pathway, meaning only one main end product (usually lactate) is produced, while others use heterofermentative pathways that can create multiple end products such as carbon dioxide, ethanol, and acetate. While only the L-isomer of lactate is produced by LAB in the conversion of malic acid, both hetero- and homofermenters can produce D-, L- and DL-isomers of lactic from glucose which may contribute to slightly different sensory properties in the wine. While O. oeni is often the LAB most desired by winemakers to complete malolactic fermentation, the process is most often carried out by a variety of LAB species that dominate the must at different points during fermentations. Several factors influence which species will be dominant, including fermentation temperature, nutritional resources, the presence of sulfur dioxide, interaction with yeast and other bacteria, pH, and alcohol levels (Lactobacillus species, for example, tend to prefer higher pH and can tolerate higher alcohol levels than O. oeni), as well as initial inoculation (such as "wild" ferments versus an inoculation of cultured O. oeni).
== Examples and ligands == The ligands for receptors are as diverse as their receptors. GPCRs (7TMs) are a particularly vast family, with at least 810 members. There are also LGICs for at least a dozen endogenous ligands, and many more receptors possible through different subunit compositions. Some common examples of ligands and receptors include:
Before amylin deposition was associated with diabetes, already in 1901, scientists described the phenomenon of "islet hyalinization", which could be found in some cases of diabetes. A thorough study of this phenomenon was possible much later. In 1986, the isolation of an aggregate from an insulin-producing tumor was successful, a protein called IAP (Insulinoma Amyloid Peptide) was characterized, and amyloids were isolated from the pancreas of a diabetic patient, but the isolated material was not sufficient for full characterization. This was achieved only a year later by two research teams whose research was a continuation of the work from 1986.
In a topological transcriptome analysis, researchers profiled important proteins of the non-small cell lung cancer regulatory network and determined that TMEM125 exhibited different topological characteristics across cancerous and normal conditions, suggesting its criticality in lung cancer networks. This is consistent with post-translational modification analysis; TMEM125 phosphorylation suggests it may be involved in a signal transduction pathway or as a receptor protein. Additionally, its myristoylation sites suggests its involvement in signal transduction, apoptosis, and alternative extracellular protein export. TMEM125 was identified as a tetraspanin cell adhesion molecule enriched in oligodendrocytes, suggesting it may play a role in myelination. Additionally, its expression was not observed in differentiating oligodendrocytes in vitro, but was detected in oligodendrocytes from treated rat brains, which suggests its expression is regulated by the presence of axons.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
The sequence is Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro, a seven-residue peptide. The first four residues correspond to the ACTH(4-10) fragment, and Pro-Gly-Pro is added at the C-terminus. N-acetylated versions also appear in the literature and differ in mass.
Semax is a synthetic analog of the ACTH(4-10) fragment rather than a copy of the full hormone. Truncation plus the added tail removes the steroidogenic portion of ACTH. That distinction explains why it is studied for nervous-system effects instead of adrenal stimulation.
It is registered as a prescription product in Russia and has been used there clinically, chiefly by the intranasal route. No approval exists in the United States or the European Union. Availability elsewhere typically falls under research-chemical distribution, with varying purity documentation.
Reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography is the standard method, with detection in the ultraviolet range. Peak area percentage yields a purity figure for the main component. Mass spectrometry is normally run alongside to confirm molecular identity.