TP-7 raises a handful of sensible questions. This page answers them in order, starting with the fundamentals and moving to applications.
Reviewed 2025-11-30. Anything still debated is marked as such rather than presented as settled.
Development work on the compound began in the 1980s and 1990s at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow, within the same research programme that produced the peptide Semax. Early investigators sought a tuftsin derivative with improved resistance to enzymatic breakdown and with activity in the central nervous system after peripheral administration. Most of the primary literature from this period was published in Russian, a factor that still shapes how easily the findings can be checked by outside groups.
Naming for this compound is not fully standardised in English sources. The spelling Selanc appears in some transliterations, and catalogue entries may instead list the peptide sequence itself as the identifier. Reference material sometimes groups it with other short synthetic peptides studied for behavioural effects, which can create confusion when citations are compared. Distinguishing the exact sequence from related tuftsin analogues is therefore a practical first step when reviewing any dataset or specification sheet.
Regulatory status differs sharply by region. Selank holds a Russian marketing authorization, where it is supplied mainly as nasal drops, while authorities elsewhere have not approved it for medical use. Material sold internationally is therefore usually labeled as a research chemical rather than a medicine. Peer-reviewed publications come predominantly from Russian laboratories, and sample sizes are generally small. Whether the compound produces comparable effects under independent, well-controlled replication remains an open question that the broader literature has not settled.
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide developed in Russia as a structural analogue of tuftsin, a naturally occurring immunomodulatory tetrapeptide. Its sequence, Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, keeps the tuftsin core at the N-terminus and appends a Pro-Gly-Pro tail. Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Moscow synthesized the compound during the 1990s while searching for peptides with combined anxiolytic and immunomodulatory activity. The added tail was intended to resist enzymatic cleavage and prolong the molecule's presence in circulation.
The compound has a calculated molecular weight near 751.9 daltons and carries a net positive charge at physiological pH because of its arginine residue. It dissolves freely in water and in common aqueous buffers, and typically appears as a white or off-white lyophilized powder. The amide backbone makes the molecule susceptible to peptidases, which limits oral use and favors intranasal or parenteral routes. Nomenclature in the literature varies: the substance is also described by the sequence abbreviation TP-7 and by a Russian trade designation.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical class | Synthetic heptapeptide | Tuftsin analogue |
| Sequence | Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro | Single-letter form: TKPRPGP |
| Molecular formula | C33H57N11O9 | Calculated for the free peptide |
| Molecular weight | About 751.9 g/mol | Derived from the sequence |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Typical lyophilised form |
Development took place at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, where a series of short peptides were designed in the 1980s and 1990s. Selank was selected from variants of tuftsin that showed resistance to plasma peptidases. Russian regulatory approval covers it as an anxiolytic agent given intranasally. Outside that market the compound is normally handled as a research chemical rather than a medicine, and no widely recognised international pharmacopoeial monograph exists. The name Selank is a coined trade designation rather than a systematic chemical name.
Enzymatic stability motivates the extra three residues at the carboxyl end. Native tuftsin is cleaved quickly by circulating aminopeptidases and carboxypeptidases, which limits its duration of action and its usefulness as a tool compound. Extending the chain with proline-rich segments is a common design tactic because proline constrains the backbone and slows proteolysis. The same Pro-Gly-Pro motif appears in other Russian-developed peptides of the era. Whether the full seven-residue chain is required for activity, or whether it acts mainly as a prodrug releasing tuftsin, remains unresolved.
Published work on this peptide almost always uses intranasal delivery, with drops or a spray applied to the nasal mucosa. Some animal experiments have used subcutaneous or intraperitoneal injection, and a smaller number have compared routes directly. Oral administration is not a focus of the literature, because short peptides of this size are broken down by digestive enzymes and cross intestinal barriers poorly. How much of an intranasal dose reaches the bloodstream intact in humans remains an open question.
Animal studies have examined behaviour in tests of anxiety, memory retention and stress response, and several report changes in neurotrophic or neurotransmitter-related markers. The human evidence base is much smaller, consisting mainly of short trials conducted in Russia with limited reporting in English-language journals. Sample sizes are modest and outcome measures vary between studies, so the findings are best described as preliminary. Independent replication under modern trial standards has not been widely reported.
The best model relating log K and log P was found to be one in which the total molar charge of a compound at a given pH is included as a variable. This model proved to give fairly accurate predictions of log P, R > 0.9. Other studies have been performed which develop predictive QRAR models for tricyclic antidepressants and barbiturates.
== Glycosyltransferases == Before monosaccharide units are incorporated into glycoproteins, polysaccharides, or lipids in living organisms, they are typically first "activated" by being joined via a glycosidic bond to the phosphate group of a nucleotide such as uridine diphosphate (UDP), guanosine diphosphate (GDP), thymidine diphosphate (TDP), or cytidine monophosphate (CMP). These activated biochemical intermediates are known as sugar nucleotides or sugar donors. Many biosynthetic pathways use mono- or oligosaccharides activated by a diphosphate linkage to lipids, such as dolichol. These activated donors are then substrates for enzymes known as glycosyltransferases, which transfer the sugar unit from the activated donor to an accepting nucleophile (the acceptor substrate).
==== Ancestral species ==== Pomelo (the Asian fruit that was crossed with an orange to produce grapefruit) contains high amounts of furanocoumarin derivatives. Grapefruit relatives and other varieties of pomelo have variable amounts of furanocoumarin. The Dancy cultivar has a small amount of pomelo ancestry, but is genetically close to a non-hybrid true mandarin (unlike most commercial mandarins, which may have much more extensive hybridization). Eight Dancy fruits, all picked at one time from one tree, have been blended and tested for furanocoumarins; none were detectable.
=== Pharmacodynamics === Etilefrine is an agonist of the α1-adrenergic receptor. It is a vasoconstrictor and antihypotensive agent. It has also been described as a β1-adrenergic receptor agonist with some agonistic actions at the α- and β2-adrenergic receptors. Intravenous infusion of this compound increases cardiac output, stroke volume, venous return, and blood pressure in humans and animals, suggesting stimulation of both α- and β-adrenergic receptors. However, in vitro studies indicate that etilefrine has a much higher affinity for β1 (cardiac) than for β2 adrenoreceptors. Intravenous etilefrine increases the pulse rate, cardiac output, stroke volume, central venous pressure, and mean arterial pressure of healthy individuals. Peripheral vascular resistance falls during the infusion of 1 to 8 mg etilefrine but begins to rise at higher dosage. Marked falls in pulse rate, cardiac output, stroke volume, and peripheral blood flow, accompanied by rises in mean arterial pressure, occur when etilefrine is infused after administration of intravenous propranolol 2.5 mg. These findings indicate that etilefrine has both β1- and α1-adrenergic receptor actions in humans.
==== First two playoff appearances (1997–98) ==== The 1,000th hit of Bagwell's career was a home run on May 20, 1997, off Calvin Maduro, one of his two that game, in a 9–5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. He was selected to the play in the All-Star Game. Exhibiting above-average speed and baserunning skills for a first baseman, Bagwell became the first full-time first baseman to join the 30–30 club, capping the 1997 season with 31 steals in 41 attempts. The only other first baseman to accomplish the 30–30 club is Joe Carter. Bagwell batted .286 and scored 109 runs. He finished second in the league with both 43 home runs and 135 RBI, his career high in RBI. He was third in the MVP balloting. He made the playoffs for the first time in 1997 when the Astros won the National League Central division, the club's first appearance in 11 years. The Astros faced the Atlanta Braves in the National League Division Series (NLDS), who swept them in three games. Bagwell, Biggio and Bell combined for two hits in 37 at bats. In 1998, Bagwell informed a Houston Chronicle reporter that he was using androstenedione (commonly referred to as "andro"), which at the time the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) classified it as a nutritional dietary supplement, finding it benign and authorized for non-medicinal purposes. It was considered a "weak" androgen steroid hormone and allegedly in widespread use around the sport at the time.[c] Bagwell hit his first career grand slam while tying a career-high six RBI against Cincinnati on September 8 in a 13–7 victory.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
==== United States ==== JRT is not an explicitly controlled substance in the United States. However, it could be considered a controlled substance under the Federal Analogue Act if intended for human consumption.
In March 2007, in the final verdict by the Supreme Court of Cassation, stated that "in the years of 1994 to 1998 there was no ascertained positive case of doping substances by Juventus players, that the purchase of erythropoietin or its administration to the athletes of the club does not emerge from any act of the trial, and that the same expert had identified the possibility of an administration of erythropoietin in distant terms from the sure evidence ("very probable" and in two cases "practically certain"): it is that therefore, the judgement of probability and not of certainty, did not allow for a statement of responsibility." The verdict also went on to say: "In response to the conclusion taken, the territorial court notes that there were no deferred values higher than the limits set in the various antidoping protocols and that the situation of the Juventus players, both with reference to the average hematological values, and in relation to that of material balance, did not differ from the national average population.
Afterwards, Xi gave a speech, stating he was glad to visit the "beautiful" United States, thanked Trump for the hospitality and said "On behalf of the 1.4 billion and more Chinese people, I wish to begin by extending sincere greetings to the American people and the warm congratulations on the 250th anniversary of the US independence". He said both countries are great countries with great people, and that he was visiting to continue the friendship and expand co-operation. He added that as two major countries, China and the US show "their historic responsibility of advancing human development and progress". He also said that he is ready to "work with Trump to steer the giant ship of the China-US relationship towards a steady future". Xi said that "China and the US are different... but through candid, in-depth, and continued dialogue, our two countries can understand each other better... and build up mutual trust". He stated he and Trump had "respect" for each other and stayed in touch, and that "We should co-operate with sincerity". He said even though cooperation between the two nations "may not solve every problem in the world", it would be hard to solve major problems without it.
== Structural properties == Cereal β-glucans – including β-glucan from oat, barley and wheat – are linear polysaccharides joined by 1,3 and 1,4 carbon linkages. The majority of cereal β-glucan bonds consist of 3 or 4 beta-1,4 glycosidic bonds (trimers and tetramers) interconnected by 1,3 linkages. In β-glucan, these trimers and tetramers are known as cellotriosyl and cellotetraosyl. Oats and barley differ in the ratio of cellotriosyl to cellotetraosyl, and barley has more 1-4 linkages with a degree of polymerization higher than 4. In oats, β-glucan is found mainly in the endosperm of the oat kernel, especially in the outer layers of that endosperm (a marked difference from barley, which contains β-glucan uniformly throughout the endosperm). Most oats contain 3–6% β-glucan by weight. Oats can be selectively bred based on favourable β-glucan levels. Often millers only process oat cultivars with at least 4% by weight β-glucan. Oat β-glucans are linear and linked at the 1,3 and 1,4 carbon sites. Oat β-glucans can form into a random coil structure and flow with Newtonian behaviour until they reach a critical concentration at which point they become pseudoplastic. The gelling ability of oat β-glucan correlates to the percentage of trimers.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
The sequence is Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, commonly written as TKPRPGP. It shares the first four residues with tuftsin and carries three prolines in the chain. The proline-rich tail is the main structural feature that separates it from the parent tetrapeptide.
Selank is a synthetic analogue built on the tuftsin tetrapeptide Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg. Extra proline residues were added to the C-terminus during design work. That modification is intended to make the peptide less vulnerable to rapid enzymatic degradation.
Transliteration from Russian produces variant spellings such as Selanc. Many suppliers avoid the trade-style name entirely and list the peptide sequence. Comparing sequences rather than names is the reliable way to confirm two entries describe the same molecule.
Selank is a synthetic seven-amino-acid peptide modeled on tuftsin, a fragment of the immunoglobulin G heavy chain. It was designed in Russia to combine anxiolytic and immunomodulatory properties in one molecule.