Selank 10mg

What is Selank ?

Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide, Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro, built on the immune peptide tuftsin. It is studied in rats and in vitro for its effects on GABAergic gene expression and enkephalin breakdown. We sell Selank in 5mg and 10mg vials of white lyophilised powder.

Selank (TKPRPGP) has the formula C₃₃H₅₇N₁₁O₉, a molecular weight of 751.9 g/mol and CAS number 129954-34-3. Its first four residues are tuftsin, a tetrapeptide released from the Fc region of the immunoglobulin G heavy chain.

The C-terminal Pro-Gly-Pro was added to slow enzymatic breakdown, the same approach used in Semax. Selank was developed at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Selank Research Applications

• Enkephalin breakdown : Selank inhibited enzymatic hydrolysis of enkephalin in blood plasma, more potently than bacitracin or puromycin (Zozulya et al., Bull Exp Biol Med, 2001).
• GABAergic genes : in rat frontal cortex it changed the expression of dozens of neurotransmission genes within hours (Volkova et al., Front Pharmacol, 2016).
• GABA-like profile : those changes correlated with the changes GABA itself produced, which the authors read as allosteric modulation of the GABAergic system.

Both papers come from Russian groups, as does nearly all Selank literature. The 2001 enzyme study measured enkephalin hydrolysis in human plasma samples. The 2016 study measured gene expression in rat frontal cortex. Independent replication outside Russia is limited.

Selank vs Semax

Both are heptapeptides ending in the same Pro-Gly-Pro tail. Selank (751.9 g/mol) carries tuftsin, Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg, from immunoglobulin G. Semax (813.9 g/mol) carries Met-Glu-His-Phe from ACTH(4-10). Semax papers centre on BDNF, trkB and brain ischaemia; Selank papers centre on GABAergic genes and enkephalin breakdown. Running them side by side controls for the shared stabilising tail.

Research Overview

Selank is a synthetic heptapeptide analogue of tuftsin, an endogenous immunomodulatory peptide derived from the Fc region of immunoglobulin G. Developed at the Institute of Molecular Genetics in Russia, Selank has been studied extensively for its anxiolytic properties, GABA system modulation, and effects on immune function. The compound is often researched alongside Semax, where Semax investigations concentrate on cognitive enhancement and BDNF modulation, Selank research focuses on anxiety reduction, stress response regulation, and GABAergic neurotransmission. Selank has been approved in Russia as a pharmaceutical treatment for generalised anxiety disorder. Research has examined its influence on serotonin and norepinephrine metabolism, its modulation of interleukin expression, and its effects on enkephalin degradation. The peptide's dual anxiolytic and immunomodulatory profile represents a unique pharmacological combination not commonly found in single-molecule compounds. Studies have documented its effects on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and its ability to stabilise enkephalins in blood serum, contributing to its anxiolytic mechanism of action.

Selank is built on the same design principle as Semax. It is the tuftsin sequence Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg extended with a C-terminal Pro-Gly-Pro tail, giving TKPRPGP, and as with Semax that PGP extension exists to blunt aminopeptidase degradation rather than to add activity of its own. The two compounds come from the same institute and share a structural strategy, which is why they are so often studied as a pair.

Two mechanisms dominate the published work. The first is GABAergic: research reports altered expression of genes encoding GABA-A receptor subunits in rat brain, which is the usual explanation offered for the anxiolytic profile. The second is enkephalinergic, Selank having been reported to inhibit the degradation of enkephalins in blood plasma and thereby prolong their action. Effects on interleukin expression and on serotonin and noradrenaline metabolism are described across the same literature, and the immunomodulatory activity traces back to tuftsin's own role as an immunostimulatory fragment of immunoglobulin G.

The same evidential caveat applies as to Semax, and for the same reason. The literature is predominantly Russian-language, concentrated in a small institutional cluster, and thinly replicated independently. Selank is registered in Russia for generalised anxiety disorder but holds no marketing authorisation in the UK, the EU or the US.

Storage and Reconstitution

Store sealed vials at -20°C, away from light and moisture, for up to 24 months. After reconstitution, keep the solution at 2-8°C and use it within 4 weeks. For longer storage, freeze single-use aliquots at -20°C and avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles.

Vials are sold on their own, without bacteriostatic water for mixing or other supplies.

How to reconstitute and handle

Let the vial reach room temperature and swab both stoppers with alcohol. Add the bacteriostatic water slowly down the inside wall of the vial, not onto the powder. Swirl gently until dissolved, without shaking. The solution should be clear and colourless.

• Maintain aseptic technique during handling. Sterilise vial stoppers with alcohol prior to needle insertion.
• Aliquot reconstituted peptide into single-use volumes to avoid degradation from repeated freeze-thaw cycles.

For the full method, see the peptide reconstitution guide and the reconstitution calculator.

Research References

• Inhibitory effect of Selank on enkephalin-degrading enzymes (Bull Exp Biol Med, 2001)
• Selank affects expression of genes involved in GABAergic neurotransmission (Front Pharmacol, 2016)

Published research on Selank is indexed on PubMed. See our full UK buyer's guide for Selank and UK buyer's guide for Selank 10mg.