A lab study found that a short peptide called Livagen, especially when mixed with cobalt ions, changes certain chromosome structures in white blood cells taken from people with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and their family members. The changes suggest the cells' DNA becomes less tightly packed, which the authors think might be protective, but no actual health benefits were measured in people.

The influence of peptide bioregulator - Livagen (Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala) separately and combined with cobalt ions, on the activity of nucleolar organizer regions (NORs) and frequency of associations of acrocentric chromosomes in lymphocytes from patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and their relatives has been studied. It is shown that combined action of Livagen and cobalt ions increases the frequency of large-sized scoring 2 NORs in both, patients and their relatives. Significant was also the influence of the studied compounds on associative activity of acrocsentric chromosomes that was expressed in sharp increase of this indicator in both studied groups. In this case more effective was the action of Livagen and cobalt ions. As activity of NOR, also the frequency of associations of acrocentric chromosomes is dependent of quality of acrocentric chromosome stalk condensation, we conclude, that by influence of Livagen and cobalt ions on the lymphocytes of HCM patients and their relatives, occurs decondensation of heterochromatinized chromatin. This may be release condition during condensation of inactivated genes in the studied groups of individuals. Our data are important because it provides new information about protective effect of Livagen and Livagen+Cobalt ions on the lymphocytes of HCM patients and their relatives and may lead to the development of a therapeutic treatment.