A Soviet-born research programme assigned a short peptide to nearly every organ in the body. Here is the map of the “cytogen” catalogue—and an honest reckoning with the state of the evidence in 2026.
Cortagen is a four-amino-acid “cytogen” from Vladimir Khavinson’s bioregulator programme, studied chiefly for one striking preclinical claim: that it helps injured peripheral nerves recover. We trace the science, and where its evidence runs thin.
Pinealon is the tripeptide EDR (Glu-Asp-Arg), a “cytogen”-class short peptide from the Khavinson school proposed to act as an epigenetic regulator of the brain. A clear-eyed look at the chemistry, the preclinical evidence, and why the data demand caution.
Vesugen is the tripeptide KED (Lys-Glu-Asp), the “vascular” member of the Khavinson cytogen family. It rests on a bold and still-unproven idea: that three amino acids can act as a tissue-selective regulator of the blood-vessel wall.
A profile of the Russian gerontologist who spent decades arguing that peptides just a few amino acids long could tune the genome and slow ageing — and why his evidence remains as fascinating as it is unsettled.
A guide to the Russian peptide-bioregulator school: very short peptides, each tied to a tissue, proposed to influence gene expression. What the catalogue is, where the idea came from, and how honest the evidence really is.
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