Selank: Research, Handling and Batch Documentation

Identity and research status

Also referred to as

TP-7, Selanc, Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro

Sequence

Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro (TKPRPGP)

Molecular Formula

C33H57N11O9

Molecular Weight

751.9 g/mol

CAS Number

129954-34-3

PubChem CID

11765600

Amino Acid Count

7 (3 of them proline)

Parent Peptide

Tuftsin, Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg, C21H40N8O6, 500.6 g/mol, PubChem CID 156080

Stabilising Motif

C-terminal Pro-Gly-Pro, the same tail used on Semax

Known Synonyms

TP-7, Selanc

Appearance

White to off-white lyophilized powder

Solubility

Freely soluble in water and in bacteriostatic water

Major Plasma Degradation Products

TKPRP, TKP, RP, GP

CAS number

129954-34-3

Mechanism, in brief

Selank has no single receptor. The pharmacology reported for it converges on four separable systems: allosteric modulation of GABA binding, inhibition of the enzymes that destroy enkephalins, regulation of BDNF transcript and protein levels in the hippocampus, and an immunological signature inherited from its tuftsin parent. The four are not equally well evidenced, and the GABA account in particular rests on binding and electrophysiology rather than on a demonstrated benzodiazepine-site interaction.

1. Peptidase-resistant scaffold. The Pro-Gly-Pro extension protects the tuftsin core from rapid serum cleavage. Tritium-labelling work identified the pentapeptide TKPRP, the tripeptide TKP, and the dipeptides RP and GP as the major plasma degradation products of Selank.
2. Allosteric shift at the GABA site. Selank changes [3H]GABA binding to brain membrane preparations as a positive allosteric modulator, and blocks the modulatory action of diazepam and olanzapine, indicating partially overlapping but non-identical sites.
3. Increased inhibitory synaptic drive. At 1 to 8 micromolar on rat hippocampal slices, spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents in CA1 pyramidal neurons rose in both amplitude and rate.
4. Enkephalinase inhibition. IC50 of 15 micromolar against plasma enkephalin hydrolysis, with selectivity for carboxypeptidases and dipeptidylcarboxypeptidases. In BALB/c mice, 100 micrograms per kilogram lengthened the plasma half-life of leu-enkephalin.
5. BDNF regulation in the hippocampus. Intranasal Selank at 250 and 500 micrograms per kilogram raised Bdnf mRNA in rat hippocampus at 3 hours and BDNF protein at 24 hours. In chronically ethanol-exposed rats the direction reversed: Selank prevented an ethanol-driven rise in hippocampal and frontal cortex BDNF.
6. Tuftsin-inherited immune signalling. A single 100 micrograms per kilogram intraperitoneal injection in mice altered 34 of 84 inflammation-related genes in spleen at 6 and 24 hours, centred on Bcl6 and its target and corepressor genes.

The full research write-up, including the findings behind each claim and the model each came from, is on the Selank 10mg 10mg page.

Vial sizes available

Every size of Selank Volta lists, in stock or not. Each is a separate catalogue page with its own batch number and specification table.

• Selank 10mg 10mgBatch #: VPSL10100
  Restocking

Purity and batch documentation

Volta's release specification is >99% (HPLC). That is a threshold we set. >99% is the specification every batch is released to. The figure on a certificate is what a laboratory measured for one lot.

No third-party certificate has been published for Selankyet. The certificates Volta does publish, with the laboratory's own verification link on each, are in the certificate archive.

Research on Selank

Handling and stability

Regulatory context

United States

Not FDA-approved. Research chemical only.

Canada

Not approved by Health Canada.

United Kingdom

Not MHRA-approved.

• the legal status of research peptides in Canada
• Health Canada's regulatory position

Primary sources

1. Zozulya AA, Kost NV, Sokolov OY, et al.. The inhibitory effect of Selank on enkephalin-degrading enzymes as a possible mechanism of its anxiolytic activity. Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine (2001). doi:10.1023/a:1017979514274
2. Sokolov OY, Meshavkin VK, Kost NV, Zozulya AA. Effects of Selank on behavioral reactions and activities of plasma enkephalin-degrading enzymes in mice with different phenotypes of emotional and stress reactions. Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine (2002). doi:10.1023/a:1015582302311
3. Zolotarev YA, Sokolov OY, Kost NV, Vaskovsky BV, Myasoedov NF, Zozulya AA. Leu-enkephalin homogeneously labeled with tritium in studying the Selank inhibiting effect on the enkephalin-degrading enzymes of human plasma. Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry (2004). doi:10.1023/b:rubi.0000030126.09208.c3
4. Zolotarev YA, Dadayan AK, Dolotov OV, et al.. Evenly tritium-labeled peptides and their in vivo and in vitro biodegradation. Bioorganicheskaia Khimiia (2006). PMID 16637290
5. Ashmarin IP, Baglikova KE, Zolotarev YA, et al.. A comparative analysis of distribution of glyprolines administered by various routes. Russian Journal of Bioorganic Chemistry (2008). doi:10.1134/s1068162008040043
6. Zozulia AA, Neznamov GG, Siuniakov TS, et al.. Efficacy and possible mechanisms of action of a new peptide anxiolytic selank in the therapy of generalized anxiety disorders and neurasthenia. Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova (2008). PMID 18454096
7. Uchakina ON, Uchakin PN, Myasoedov NF, et al.. Immunomodulatory effects of selank in patients with anxiety-asthenic disorders. Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova (2008). PMID 18577961
8. Inozemtseva LS, Karpenko EA, Dolotov OV, Levitskaya NG, Kamensky AA, Andreeva LA, Grivennikov IA. Intranasal administration of the peptide Selank regulates BDNF expression in the rat hippocampus in vivo. Doklady Biological Sciences (2008). doi:10.1134/S0012496608040066
9. Compensatory and antiamnestic effects of heptapeptide Selank in monkeys. Zhurnal Evoliutsionnoi Biokhimii i Fiziologii (2008). PMID 18727417
10. Semenova TP, Kozlovskii II, Zakharova NM, Kozlovskaya MM. Comparison of the effects of selank and tuftsin on the metabolism of serotonin in the brain of rats pretreated with PCPA. Eksperimentalnaia i Klinicheskaia Farmakologiia (2009). PMID 19803361
11. Semenova TP, Kozlovskii II, Zakharova NM, Kozlovskaya MM. Experimental optimization of learning and memory processes by selank. Eksperimentalnaia i Klinicheskaia Farmakologiia (2010). PMID 20919548
12. Kolomin T, Shadrina M, Andreeva L, Slominsky P, Limborska S, Myasoedov N. Expression of inflammation-related genes in mouse spleen under tuftsin analog Selank. Regulatory Peptides (2011). doi:10.1016/j.regpep.2011.05.001
13. Kolomin T, Morozova M, Volkova A, et al.. The temporary dynamics of inflammation-related genes expression under tuftsin analog Selank action. Molecular Immunology (2014). doi:10.1016/j.molimm.2013.11.002
14. Medvedev VE, Tereshchenko ON, Kost NV, et al.. Optimization of the treatment of anxiety disorders with selank. Zhurnal Nevrologii i Psikhiatrii imeni S.S. Korsakova (2015). doi:10.17116/jnevro20151156133-40
15. Volkova A, Shadrina M, Kolomin T, Andreeva L, Limborska S, Myasoedov N, Slominsky P. Selank Administration Affects the Expression of Some Genes Involved in GABAergic Neurotransmission. Frontiers in Pharmacology (2016). doi:10.3389/fphar.2016.00031
16. Kolik LG, Nadorova AV, Seredenin SB. Selank Inhibits Ethanol-Induced Hyperlocomotion and Manifestation of Behavioral Sensitization in DBA/2 Mice. Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine (2016). doi:10.1007/s10517-016-3544-6
17. Filatova E, Kasian A, Kolomin T, et al.. GABA, Selank, and Olanzapine Affect the Expression of Genes Involved in GABAergic Neurotransmission in IMR-32 Cells. Frontiers in Pharmacology (2017). doi:10.3389/fphar.2017.00089
18. Kasian A, Kolomin T, Andreeva L, Bondarenko E, Myasoedov N, Slominsky P, Shadrina M. Peptide Selank Enhances the Effect of Diazepam in Reducing Anxiety in Unpredictable Chronic Mild Stress Conditions in Rats. Behavioural Neurology (2017). doi:10.1155/2017/5091027
19. Povarov IS, Kondratenko RV, Derevyagin VI, Myasoedov NF, Skrebitsky VG. Effect of Selank on Spontaneous Synaptic Activity of Rat Hippocampal CA1 Neurons. Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine (2017). doi:10.1007/s10517-017-3676-3
20. Slominsky PA, Shadrina MI, Kolomin TA, et al.. Peptides semax and selank affect the behavior of rats with 6-OHDA induced PD-like parkinsonism. Doklady Biological Sciences (2017). doi:10.1134/S0012496617030048
21. Vyunova TV, Andreeva L, Shevchenko K, Myasoedov N. Peptide-based Anxiolytics: The Molecular Aspects of Heptapeptide Selank Biological Activity. Protein and Peptide Letters (2018). doi:10.2174/0929866525666180925144642
22. Kolik LG, Nadorova AV, Antipova TA, Kruglov SV, Kudrin VS, Durnev AD. Selank, Peptide Analogue of Tuftsin, Protects Against Ethanol-Induced Memory Impairment by Regulating of BDNF Content in the Hippocampus and Prefrontal Cortex in Rats. Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine (2019). doi:10.1007/s10517-019-04588-9
23. Mukhina AY, Mishina ES, Bobyntsev II, et al.. Morphological Changes in the Large Intestine of Rats Subjected to Chronic Restraint Stress and Treated with Selank. Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine (2020). doi:10.1007/s10517-020-04868-9
24. Panikratova YR, Lebedeva IS, Sokolov OY, Rumshiskaya AD, Kupriyanov DA, Kost NV, Myasoedov NF. Functional Connectomic Approach to Studying Selank and Semax Effects. Doklady Biological Sciences (2020). doi:10.1134/S001249662001007X
25. The Influence of Selank on the Level of Cytokines Under the Conditions of Social Stress. Current Reviews in Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology (2021). doi:10.2174/1574884715666200704152810
26. Doyno CR, White CM. Sedative-Hypnotic Agents That Impact Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Receptors: Focus on Flunitrazepam, Gamma-Hydroxybutyric Acid, Phenibut, and Selank. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology (2021). doi:10.1002/jcph.1922
27. Konstantinopolsky MA, Chernyakova IV, Kolik LG. Selank, a Peptide Analog of Tuftsin, Attenuates Aversive Signs of Morphine Withdrawal in Rats. Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine (2022). doi:10.1007/s10517-022-05624-x
28. Selank, PubChem Compound Summary CID 11765600. PubChem, National Center for Biotechnology Information
29. Tuftsin, PubChem Compound Summary CID 156080. PubChem, National Center for Biotechnology Information