This is a working overview of tuftsin, written for readers who want more than a one-paragraph summary but less than a textbook.
This page was last updated on 2025-10-25 and is reviewed periodically as new material appears.
Naming conventions place Selank in the same research family as Semax, another Russian-developed peptide investigated for cognitive effects. The two compounds share a lineage but differ in sequence and in the biological systems proposed as their targets. Semax descends from ACTH fragments, whereas Selank descends from tuftsin. Publications sometimes identify Selank by its full peptide sequence or by laboratory codes rather than one uniform trade name. Because replication outside Russia is limited, reports on its properties are best read alongside the study design and the purity of the material tested.
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide developed in Russia during the 1990s. Researchers at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences designed it as a stabilized analog of tuftsin, a naturally occurring immunomodulatory tetrapeptide. The compound has been studied primarily for its reported anxiolytic and nootropic effects. It remains largely unknown in Western pharmacology and is not approved as a medicine by major regulators such as the FDA or the EMA.
The primary structure of Selank is Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, corresponding to the molecular formula C33H57N11O9 and a monoisotopic mass of roughly 751.9 daltons. The N-terminal threonine and the arginine residue in the fourth position are shared with tuftsin, which carries the sequence Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg. The three additional residues at the C-terminus, Pro-Gly-Pro, extend the chain and are associated with greater resistance to enzymatic degradation. This extension also separates Selank from the shorter parent peptide.
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.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular class | Synthetic heptapeptide | Stabilized analog of tuftsin |
| Sequence | Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro | Single-letter form: TKPRPGP |
| Molecular formula | C33H57N11O9 | Monoisotopic mass about 751.9 Da |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Typically supplied as lyophilized solid |
| Solubility | Freely soluble in water | Also soluble in common polar solvents |
Published clinical work is concentrated in Russian-language journals and generally involves small samples without independent replication. Systematic reviews in English note the shortage of randomised, placebo-controlled trials and the difficulty of verifying methods from translated reports. Outcome measures vary between studies, which complicates pooling of results. Interest in the compound as a cognitive or anxiolytic agent therefore rests on a thinner evidence base than the volume of citations suggests. Replication in well-powered trials with preregistered endpoints would be needed before firm conclusions about efficacy can be drawn.
Proposed mechanisms centre on the GABAergic system. Animal and tissue studies report changes in GABA-A receptor expression and reduced activity of GABA transaminase, the enzyme that degrades GABA. Effects on monoamine turnover, including serotonin and dopamine pathways, are also described, and a separate line of work links the peptide to increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in hippocampal tissue. Most of these findings come from rodent models and cell preparations. How the individual observations combine into a single coherent mode of action is not settled.
The compound was designed at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences during the 1980s and 1990s. The stated design goal was to retain the immunomodulatory and central nervous system activity attributed to tuftsin while improving resistance to enzymatic breakdown. Adding a proline-rich tail to the short parent peptide was a deliberate strategy, because proline residues restrict the conformations available to many peptidases. The same laboratory produced Semax, an ACTH fragment analog, and both compounds were developed in parallel as short, enzymatically stabilized peptides intended for intranasal use.
Selank is not a naturally occurring peptide and has no known endogenous counterpart in human physiology. Russian-language sources frequently call it TP-7, while English-language sources use the name Selank almost exclusively. Database indexing is uneven, partly because early reports appeared in regional journals that are not widely cataloged. Some summaries describe the material as a tuftsin analog and others as a synthetic heptapeptide; the labels overlap rather than conflict. Citing the primary sequence resolves ambiguity more reliably than the research or trade name alone.
=== Differential diagnosis === 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD) deficiency has similar symptoms and is often mistaken for G6PD deficiency, as the affected enzyme is within the same pathway; however, these diseases are not linked and can be found within the same person.
== External links == nobelprize.org Explaining the function of eukaryotic elongation factors Elongation+Factor at the U.S. National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) Peptide+Elongation+Factor+G at the U.S. National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) Peptide+Elongation+Factor+Tu at the U.S. National Library of Medicine Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) EC 3.6.5.3
=== Rodents === The glans penis of the marsh rice rat is long and robust, averaging 7.3 mm (0.29 in) long and 4.6 mm (0.18 in) broad. Winkelmann's mouse can most readily be distinguished from its close relatives by its partially corrugated glans penis. In Thomasomys ucucha, the glans penis is rounded, short, and small and is superficially divided into left and right halves by a trough at the top and a ridge at the bottom. Most of the glans is covered with spines, except for an area near the tip. The glans penis of a male cape ground squirrel is large with a prominent baculum.
=== Casting === Brec Bassinger was cast as Courtney Whitmore / Stargirl in September 2018. Johns called the casting of Stargirl a difficult process, auditioning hundreds of actresses for the role. On why Bassinger was perfect for the role, Johns said: "Immediately... I knew she was Courtney. She has the humor, she has the enthusiasm, the energy, the innate optimism, and Brec really embodies who Stargirl is". The following roles were cast in November: Anjelika Washington as Beth Chapel / Doctor Mid-Nite, Yvette Monreal as Yolanda Montez / Wildcat, and Christopher James Baker as Henry King / Brainwave. In January 2019, Luke Wilson was cast as Pat Dugan / S.T.R.I.P.E. Amy Smart joined the cast as Barbara Whitmore in February, along with Neil Jackson as Jordan Mahkent / Icicle, Trae Romano as Mike Dugan, Hunter Sansone as Cameron, and Cameron Gellman as Rick Tyler / Hourman. Also Jake Austin Walker was cast as Henry King Jr. and Meg DeLacy cast as Cindy Burman. The following members of the Justice Society of America were cast in December 2018: Joel McHale as Sylvester Pemberton / Starman, Lou Ferrigno Jr. as Rex Tyler / Hourman, Brian Stapf as Ted Grant / Wildcat, and Henry Thomas as Charles McNider / Doctor Mid-Nite. As well, Joy Osmanski was cast as Paula Brooks / Tigress, Neil Hopkins was cast as Lawrence "Crusher" Crock / Sportsmaster, and Nelson Lee was cast as Dr. Ito / Dragon King, members of the Injustice Society. In April 2019, Hina Khan was cast as Anaya Bowin.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
=== Pharmacokinetics === Following oral administration, dextromethorphan is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, where it enters the bloodstream and crosses the blood–brain barrier. At therapeutic doses, dextromethorphan acts centrally (meaning that it acts on the brain) as opposed to locally (on the respiratory tract). It elevates the threshold for coughing, without inhibiting ciliary activity. Dextromethorphan is rapidly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract and converted into the active metabolite dextrorphan in the liver by the cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP2D6. The average dose necessary for effective antitussive therapy is between 10 and 45 mg, depending on the individual. The International Society for the Study of Cough recommends "an adequate first dose of medication is 60 mg in the adult and repeat dosing should be infrequent rather than qds recommended." Dextromethorphan has an elimination half-life of approximately four hours in individuals with an extensive metabolizer phenotype; this is increased to approximately 13 hours when dextromethorphan is given in combination with quinidine. The duration of action after oral administration is about three to eight hours for dextromethorphan hydrobromide, and 10 to 12 hours for dextromethorphan polistirex. Around one in ten of the Caucasian population has little or no CYP2D6 enzyme activity, leading to long-lived high drug levels.
==== Follicular cells ==== The core of a follicle is surrounded by a single layer of follicular cells. When stimulated by thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), these secrete the thyroid hormones T3 and T4. They do this by transporting and metabolising the thyroglobulin contained in the colloid. Follicular cells vary in shape from flat to cuboid to columnar, depending on how active they are.
Protein Ser/Thr phosphatases were originally classified using biochemical assays as either, type 1 (PP1) or type 2 (PP2), and were further subdivided based on metal-ion requirement (PP2A, no metal ion; PP2B, Ca2+ stimulated; PP2C, Mg2+ dependent) (Moorhead et al., 2007). The protein Ser/Thr phosphatases PP1, PP2A and PP2B of the PPP family, together with PP2C of the PPM family, account for the majority of Ser/Thr PP activity in vivo (Barford et al., 1998). In the brain, they are present in different subcellular compartments in neuronal and glial cells, and contribute to different neuronal functions.
=== Web browsing === Web browsers with integrated AI agents are sometimes called agentic browsers. Such agents can perform tasks and browser actions on the user's behalf. In 2025, Microsoft launched NLWeb, an agentic web search replacement that would allow websites to use agents to query content from websites by using RSS-like interfaces that allow for the lookup and semantic retrieval of content. Within weeks of release, NLWeb was found to have created security issues and expose information about users to third-party servers.
== Genetics == Mutation in the gene CAPN3, which encodes the protein calpain-3 (CAPN3), is the cause of calpainopathy. As of 2019, more than 480 CAPN3 mutations have been reported, some of which can be associated with severe or benign disease course. Usually, the disease follows an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern, requiring both CAPN3 alleles to be mutated for disease to occur. However, there can be CAPN3 mutations that follow an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
VIP is highly localised in lungs (70%) and binds with alveolar type II (AT II) cells via VPAC1. The biological (vasodilator) activity of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) was discovered in the lungs before the peptide was isolated and chemical identity characterized from intestine. VIP levels are also considerably high in the brain and the gut. It is localized in key sites in the lung, has potent activities on its major functions, and appears to play an important role in pulmonary physiology and disease. The principal localization of VIP-containing neurons in the tracheobronchial tree is in the smooth muscle layer, around submucosal mucous glands and in the walls of pulmonary and bronchial arteries. Immunoreactive VIP is also present in neuronal cell bodies forming microglia that provide a source of intrinsic innervation of pulmonary structures.
In 1963, Carl F. Essig of the Addiction Research Center of the National Institute of Mental Health stated that meprobamate, glutethimide, ethinamate, ethchlorvynol, methyprylon and chlordiazepoxide were drugs whose usefulness “can hardly be questioned.” However, Essig labeled these “newer products” as “drugs of addiction,” like barbiturates, whose habit-forming qualities were more widely known. He mentioned a 90-day study of chlordiazepoxide, which concluded that the automobile accident rate among 68 users was 10 times higher than normal. Participants' daily dosage ranged from 5 to 100 milligrams. Chlordiazepoxide is a drug of potential misuse and is frequently detected in urine samples of drug users who have not been prescribed the drug.
=== Patent expiry === Patent protection for insulin glargine expired in the European Union and the United States in 2014. Insulin glargine from competitor Eli Lilly became available in most countries during 2015, under the brand names Basaglar (as a follow-on in the US) and Abasaglar (as a biosimilar in the EU).
=== C-terminal modifications === The C-terminus of proteins can be modified posttranslationally, most commonly by the addition of a lipid anchor to the C-terminus that allows the protein to be inserted into a membrane without having a transmembrane domain.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide designed as a stabilized analog of the natural tetrapeptide tuftsin. It has been investigated mainly for anxiolytic and cognitive effects. It is not an approved pharmaceutical in most countries.
It was developed in Russia, at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, during the 1990s. Most published research originates from Russian institutions. Independent international replication remains limited.
Tuftsin is a natural tetrapeptide with the sequence Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg that participates in immune signaling. Selank extends that sequence with Pro-Gly-Pro at the C-terminus. The added residues are linked to greater resistance to enzymatic breakdown.
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.