LTP·01learntopeptide
Longevity & bioregulatorsEvidence D3 cited

Livagen

aka Livagen bioregulator · Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala · KEDA peptide

Livagen is a synthetic tetrapeptide composed of lysine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and alanine (Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala), developed by Professor Vladimir Khavinson as a bioregulator peptide targeting the liver. The liver is central to metabolic homeostasis, detoxification, protein synthesis, and bile production, and hepatocyte function declines progressively with age. Livagen is proposed to normalise hepatocyte gene expression by interacting with DNA to modulate chromatin condensation and transcriptional activity in aging liver tissue. One notable proposed mechanism is the promotion of chromatin decondensation in heterochromatin regions of aging hepatocytes, potentially reactivating silenced genes involved in liver regeneration and metabolic function.

Molecular wt
461.5g/mol
Formula
C18H31N5O9
CAS
433257-50-2
Half-life
2 h
estimated
Tmax
1 h
Route
Oral or subcutaneous
PubChem
87919683

Sequence

One-letter4 residues

KEDA

Three-letter

Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala

Read this before quoting the sequence
Synthetic tetrapeptide from the Khavinson 'peptide bioregulator' series. PubChem CID 87919683 is titled Livagen and its record gives Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala-OH; the same sequence is stated independently in the primary literature (Kost NV et al. 2003, PMID 12942748: 'Livagen (Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala)'). The molecular formula C18H31N5O9 is consistent with the free-acid tetrapeptide.
Source ↗

Mechanism of action

Livagen (Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala) is proposed to interact with DNA in hepatocytes, modulating chromatin structure and gene expression related to liver function. A distinctive feature is its ability to induce decondensation of heterochromatin in aging liver cells, which may reactivate genes that become transcriptionally silenced during aging. This chromatin remodelling effect could restore expression of genes involved in hepatocyte proliferation, detoxification enzyme systems (cytochrome P450 family), albumin synthesis, and bile acid metabolism.

What the evidence actually shows

Grade D

Evidence for Livagen is limited to preclinical studies, primarily from Khavinson research group. In vitro studies demonstrated that the Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala peptide can induce chromatin decondensation in hepatocyte cultures from aging animals. Animal studies have shown some evidence of improved liver function markers. No controlled human clinical trials have been published.

Regulatory status

Status
Not approved in any jurisdiction. No marketing authorisation identified in Drugs@FDA or the EMA medicines register. Livagen belongs to the Russian 'peptide bioregulator' literature and has no Western regulatory status.
Clinical stage
No registered interventional clinical trials identified. Published evidence is limited to ex vivo human lymphocyte/leukocyte chromatin studies, rat organ cultures and in vitro enzyme assays, mostly from a single research group.
WADA
Not named on the 2026 WADA Prohibited List. Note S2 also captures 'other substances with similar chemical structure or similar biological effect(s)'.
Source ↗

Pharmacokinetics

Half-life
2 h
Tmax
1 h
Absorption
subcutaneous
Elimination
renal
Washout
2 days
Low-confidence pharmacokinetics
These figures are recorded as estimated rather than measured in a published PK study. Treat them as an order of magnitude. Anything downstream of them — accumulation, steady state, washout — inherits that uncertainty.

Dosing — what backs each figure

Livagen (the KEDA tetrapeptide) has no human dosing data and no registered interventional trial; the only published work is Russian/Georgian in vitro chromatin studies on cultured lymphocytes plus small animal gerontology reports. No dose, route or schedule for human administration exists in the literature.

PreclinicalAnimal studies — not a human dose

  • Livagen (Lys-Glu-Asp-Ala / KEDA) applied to cultured lymphocytes from 75-88 year old donors alongside other short peptide bioregulators (Epitalon, Cortagen, Vilon); assessed for chromatin decondensation, NOR activity and sister chromatid exchange. This is an ex vivo cell-culture exposure, not an in vivo dose

    in vitro (human lymphocyte culture) · in vitro culture medium (no in vivo route) · PMID 37042594

Animal doses do not convert to human doses by body weight alone. Route matters too — a compound dosed intraperitoneally in mice tells you little about subcutaneous use.

No established human dose
No approved label or completed human trial establishes a dosing regimen for this compound. Anything presented as a standard protocol for it — anywhere — is someone's convention rather than a finding.

Handling and storage

No compound-specific stability data exists
No compound-specific published stability data (temperature/duration for lyophilised or reconstituted material, light sensitivity, freeze-thaw tolerance) was located in any regulatory label, pharmacopoeial monograph or peer-reviewed source. Only generic lyophilised-peptide handling guidance exists, and generic guidance is not compound-specific; no specific figures are asserted here. Livagen has no approved product; the published work is Russian-language laboratory and ex vivo research. General peptide handling still applies — reconstitute gently, keep it cold, keep it dark — but any specific figure you see quoted for this compound elsewhere is someone's assumption, not a measurement.
→ Reconstitution walkthrough→ Reconstitution calculator

Safety

References (3)

Data provenance

Chemistry and citations on this page were checked against primary sources on 2026-08-14. Values that could not be verified were left blank rather than filled with a plausible guess.

Could not verify
storage.lyophilized, storage.reconstituted, storage.lightSensitive, reconstitution.solvent

Research use only
This profile is educational reference material. It is not medical advice, not a prescription, and not an endorsement of self-administration. Compounds discussed here are research chemicals and most are not approved for human therapeutic use.

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Cortagen
Cortagen is a short synthetic bioregulator peptide developed by Professor Vladimir Khavinson and the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. It is designed to target the adrenal cortex, supporting the regulation of cortisol production and adrenal gland function. Bioregulator peptides are based on the concept that short peptide sequences derived from or mimicking endogenous tissue-specific peptides can restore gene expression patterns in aging or damaged tissues. Cortagen is proposed to normalise adrenal cortex function by interacting with DNA and modulating transcription of genes involved in steroidogenesis. While the bioregulator concept has theoretical appeal, the evidence base consists primarily of preclinical studies and observational reports from Russian clinical practice.