[Comparison of the effects of selank and tuftsin on the metabolism of serotonin in the brain of rats pretreated with PCPA].
Semenova. T P TP; kozlovskiĭ. I I II; Zakharova. N M NM; Kozlovskaia. M M MM
Key Findings
- Selank increased serotonin metabolism in the brain stem 30 minutes after injection in serotonin‑depleted rats
- Tuftsin showed no effect in the brain stem and decreased serotonin metabolism in the neocortex
- The results suggest selank could counteract conditions of low brain serotonin
Practical Outcomes
- Selank may be a candidate for supporting low‑serotonin states such as low mood or stress, but the evidence is limited to an animal model and a single acute dose. Biohackers should treat this as a preliminary hint, not a proven protocol, and await human safety and dosing data before trying it.
Summary
In rats whose brain serotonin was artificially lowered, a single dose of the peptide selank quickly boosted serotonin activity in the brain stem, while a similar peptide, tuftsin, did not help and even reduced activity in the cortex.
Abstract
Effects of the peptide drugs selank (Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg-Pro-Gly-Pro) and tuftsin (Thr-Lys-Pro-Arg) on the metabolism of serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) in the brain of Wistar rats preliminarily treated with the 5-HT-synthesis inhibitor p-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA, 320 mg/kg, i.p., 4 days before experiment) have been studied on a group of 87 matured rats. It is established that selank enhances the 5-HT metabolism in the brain stem 30 min after injection to animals pretreated with PCPA. In contrast to selank, tuftsin induced no changes in the 5-HT metabolism in the brain stem and decreased it in the neocortex on the same time scale. The data obtained suggest that the peptide drug selank can be used for the correction of disturbances induced by a decrease in 5-HT metabolism.
Study Information
pubmed
2009