What is Prostamax?
Prostamax is the synthetic tetrapeptide Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro (KEDP), one of the short peptide bioregulators from V. Kh. Khavinson's program at the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. The group's 2022 review table lists it as a regulator of prostatic function. The source that table gives for the label is a 2004 European patent by Khavinson and colleagues, not a journal paper (Khavinson et al., 2022). The prostamax peptide has a small record.
Five indexed papers name it as prostamax in the title or abstract, and two more give only its sequence code, KEDP. The five are explant, cell or chromatin work, three are in Russian, and all come from Khavinson's network or a group in Tbilisi, Georgia, that published with him (Khavinson et al., 2004). No study in live animals and no human trial is indexed. Disguised Alpha does not currently list prostamax; this page is a literature reference for laboratory researchers. Nothing on this page is guidance for use in people.
Prostamax reference data
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Name | Prostamax |
| Also called | Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro; KEDP (one-letter code) |
| Structure or sequence | Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro: L-lysyl-L-glutamyl-L-aspartyl-L-proline, with a free N-terminal amine and a free C-terminal acid |
| Compound class | Synthetic tetrapeptide; one of the Khavinson group's short peptide bioregulators (the group's own label, not a drug class) |
| Molecular formula | C₂₀H₃₃N₅O₉ |
| Molecular weight | 487.5 g/mol |
| PubChem CID | 9848296 |
Name, sequence, formula and weight come from PubChem CID 9848296, filed under the name Prostamax with all four residues in the L form. The same sequence appears in the group's 2022 table (Khavinson et al., 2022) and in the title of a 2012 chromatin study (Dzhokhadze et al., 2012). No format or certificate is quoted, because this compound is not in the Disguised Alpha catalog.
What the research covers
The indexed work falls into four areas, each with its model named below. Most of it measures chromatin in cultured human cells. None of it measures prostate function in a living animal or person.
Prostate explants from young and old rats
The only prostate data come from organotypic culture, in which small tissue fragments grow in a dish. Explants of heart, lung, prostate and pancreas from 3-week-old and 18-month-old rats were exposed to four of the group's peptides. At 0.05 ng/mL, each had a stimulating effect on its matching tissue compared with control explants, in both age groups; prostamax was the prostate peptide (Zakutskii et al., 2006). The paper is in Russian, and its English abstract gives no group sizes or effect sizes. Model: rat tissue explants.
Chromatin in lymphocytes from older donors
Most of the record is chromatin work in cultured blood lymphocytes from older people. In cells from donors aged 75 to 88, prostamax was one of five short peptides that activated ribosomal genes, decondensed densely packed chromatin and released genes repressed by age-related condensation. Prostamax, epitalon and livagen also decondensed the pericentromeric structural heterochromatin of chromosome 1 (Khavinson et al., 2004).
A 2012 follow-up in cells from donors aged 75 to 86 reported that prostamax raised sister chromatid exchanges from 5.9 to 12.0 per cell and silver-stained nucleolus organizer regions from 0.95 to 2.5 per cell. It also made large pericentromeric heterochromatin variants of chromosomes 1 and 9 less frequent, which the authors read as decondensation of aged chromatin (Dzhokhadze et al., 2012). Model: human lymphocyte cultures, not a human study.
Calorimetry of chromatin
Two papers from the Tbilisi group used differential scanning calorimetry, which records how chromatin structures melt as temperature rises. In human lymphocytes, prostamax shifted two melting peaks 2.9 and 1.0°C lower and redistributed heat between them. The authors linked this to partial relaxation of the 30-nm chromatin fiber toward the 10-nm filament (Meskhi et al., 2004).
A 2009 study set out to test prostamax and copper or cadmium ions, separately and together, in lymphocyte cultures from older people. Its abstract reports results for the ions only: copper condensed heterochromatin further, and cadmium decondensed and partly denatured it. It reports no prostamax result, alone or combined (Kiladze et al., 2009). Model: human lymphocyte cultures.
DNA and transporter models
Two primary papers test the sequence against mechanisms the group proposes. A St Petersburg macromolecular chemistry group reported that KEDP, like the peptides KE and AEDG, changed the melting temperature of double-stranded DNA, and used docking to model how the free amino acids glutamate and lysine, two of its residues, bind the helix (Solovyev et al., 2015).
In computer docking of 26 short peptides, KEDP scored second at the binding site of the peptide transporter PEPT1 and last at the amino acid transporter LAT2, and the authors grouped it with the most effective transporter ligands (Khavinson et al., 2023). The group's 2022 review notes that KEDP showed no high binding ability to LAT1, although LAT1 is moderately expressed in the prostate (Khavinson et al., 2022). Neither study measured uptake into cells. Models: purified DNA, computer docking.
Key studies
- Zakutskii AN, et al. "The tissue-specific effect of synthetic peptides-biologic regulators in organotypic tissues culture in young and old rats." Adv Gerontol. 2006. PMID 17152728. Rat explants; prostamax at 0.05 ng/mL stimulated prostate tissue. In Russian.
- Khavinson VKh, et al. "Effects of short peptides on lymphocyte chromatin in senile subjects." Bull Exp Biol Med. 2004. PMID 15085253. DOI 10.1023/b:bebm.0000024393.40560.05. Lymphocytes from donors aged 75 to 88; five peptides compared.
- Meskhi T, et al. "The influence of the peptide bioregulator prostamax on heterochromatin of human lymphocytes in situ." Biofizika. 2004. PMID 15612551. Calorimetry of lymphocyte chromatin. In Russian.
- Dzhokhadze TA, et al. "Deheterochromatinization of the chromatin in old age induced by oligopeptide bioregulator (Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro)." Georgian Med News. 2012. PMID 23221144. Sister chromatid exchanges and nucleolus organizer regions in lymphocytes from donors aged 75 to 86. In Russian.
- Khavinson VK, et al. "Feasibility of Transport of 26 Biologically Active Ultrashort Peptides via LAT and PEPT Family Transporters." Biomolecules. 2023. PMID 36979488. DOI 10.3390/biom13030552. Computer docking at four transporters.
Handling and storage of lyophilized prostamax
General laboratory practice for a freeze-dried tetrapeptide, covered in the peptide storage guide and the reconstitution guide:
- Keep the sealed powder at -20°C, dry and protected from light. Let a cold vial reach room temperature before opening so moisture does not condense on it.
- Two acidic residues against one basic residue make prostamax an acidic peptide; the reconstitution guide's rule is that acidic peptides dissolve best in basic rather than acidic solutions. Test a small portion in water first and record the pH.
- The sequence ends in an aspartyl-proline bond, which breaks more readily in acid than most peptide bonds, so avoid holding solutions at low pH unless a protocol calls for it.
- Split stock into single-use aliquots at 2 to 8°C and avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles. The free peptide is 487.5 g/mol; a salt form weighs more, so base molarity on the form and content in the supplier's documentation.
Frequently asked questions
What is prostamax?
The synthetic tetrapeptide Lys-Glu-Asp-Pro (KEDP), which Khavinson's St Petersburg group lists as a regulator of prostatic function (Khavinson et al., 2022). PubChem files it as CID 9848296.
What has the prostamax peptide been studied for?
Rat prostate explants in organotypic culture (Zakutskii et al., 2006) and chromatin structure in cultured lymphocytes from older donors (Khavinson et al., 2004). No indexed study tests it in live animals or in prostate cells beyond explants.
Has prostamax been tested in people?
No human study is indexed in PubMed. The human material in its record is blood lymphocytes from older donors, grown in culture (Dzhokhadze et al., 2012). Prostamax has no Drugs@FDA record and is not an approved drug in the United States (openFDA search, 12 October 2026).
How strong is the evidence on prostamax?
Weak. Five indexed papers name it as prostamax and two more give its sequence code, KEDP; all come from Khavinson's network or groups that published with him, and none is in live animals. The prostate label in the group's own table rests on a patent (Khavinson et al., 2022).
How is prostamax related to vesugen and testagen?
They share the Lys-Glu-Asp core. Vesugen is the tripeptide Lys-Glu-Asp, and several of the group's tetrapeptides add a fourth residue to it: proline in prostamax, glycine in testagen, alanine in livagen (Khavinson et al., 2022). See our vesugen research guide.
Does Disguised Alpha sell prostamax?
Not currently. Related bioregulators in the catalog: Vesugen, which shares its first three residues; Epitalon, tested beside it in the 2004 chromatin study; and Cardiogen, tested beside it in the rat explant study.
Related compounds and guides
- Peptide bioregulators list, A to Z
- Peptide bioregulators explained
- Vesugen research guide and product page
- Epitalon research guide and product page
- Cardiogen research guide and product page
- Peptide storage and reconstitution guides
All Disguised Alpha products are for laboratory research only and are not for human consumption.