In brief
Semax is a seven-residue analogue of the ACTH(4-10) fragment (Met-Glu-His-Phe-Pro-Gly-Pro) reported to affect learning and memory in rodents. This paper looked for a receptor. Tritium-labelled Semax bound to membranes from rat basal forebrain in a way that was time-dependent, specific and reversible, required calcium, and had a dissociation constant of about 2.4 nanomolar with a maximum binding of roughly 33 femtomoles per milligram of protein. When rats received Semax intranasally at 50 or 250 micrograms per kilogram, brain-derived neurotrophic factor rose quickly, within three hours, in the basal forebrain but not in the cerebellum. The authors take the two results together as evidence for specific Semax binding sites and for BDNF as part of its mechanism.
Study design
Rat study: radioligand binding to basal-forebrain membranes, and BDNF protein measured after intranasal Semax.
What it does not show
A mechanism study in rats. The binding site was not identified as a named receptor, and the cognitive effects the paper refers to come from other work, not from this experiment.
Results in rodents or other animals often do not reproduce in people. Species, route, dose and the injury or disease model all shape the outcome, and an effect in a rat is a reason for further study, not a conclusion.
Where this paper is cited
- Semax — Semax bound specifically to rat basal-forebrain membranes and raised BDNF protein levels there.
Other papers cited for Semax
- Animal study Semax, an analog of ACTH(4-10) with cognitive effects, regulates BDNF and trkB expression in the rat hippocampus Dolotov et al. (2006), Brain Res
Further reading
- Research library: every paper cited on this site, by compound and by study type.
- Cognitive and longevity peptide comparison
- How to read a certificate of analysis
- Lyophilised peptide storage and stability
How this page was made: the citation was retrieved from PubMed by PMID and checked against the title on the product page; the summary was written from the paper's abstract and reports only what the abstract reports. Read the paper itself before relying on any figure here.