Cartalax
Cartalax is a synthetic short-peptide bioregulator (sequence Ala-Glu-Asp-Leu, AEDL) from the Khavinson cytomedin family, developed at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. It is studied in preclinical research for cartilage, connective-tissue and joint biology, and for its proposed anti-inflammatory action on cartilage-resident cells.
Research contexts focused on cartilage, joint, and connective-tissue aging or repair.
Cartalax is a synthetic tetrapeptide (Ala-Glu-Asp-Leu) belonging to the Khavinson family of short-peptide bioregulators, which grew out of decades of Russian research into tissue-specific 'cytomedin' peptides at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. The governing hypothesis is that very short peptides of three to six residues can enter cells and the nucleus, bind specific DNA and histone regions, and modulate the transcription of tissue-relevant genes rather than acting on cell-surface receptors like conventional signaling peptides.
Cartalax is designated the cartilage / connective-tissue member of this family, and Russian preclinical work reports effects on chondrocyte gene expression, extracellular-matrix components such as collagen type II and proteoglycans, and reduced expression of pro-inflammatory mediators like IL-1beta and TNF-alpha in cartilage-resident cells. g. the Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine and work by Khavinson and colleagues), with limited independent Western replication and few controlled human clinical trials.
The broader bioregulator epigenetic mechanism remains an area of active investigation and is not settled science. Cartalax is not approved by the FDA or other major regulators for treating any condition and is offered strictly for research use. Reported dosing is drawn from preclinical protocols and vendor guidance rather than established clinical trials, so figures should be treated as approximate.
Anyone considering its use should do so only under qualified physician guidance and with an understanding that safety and efficacy in humans are not well characterized.
Injectable research use is typically subcutaneous, ~1-2 mg once daily in short pulse cycles of 10-20 days, repeated 2-3 times per year; the conservative start is 1 mg. Oral/sublingual capsule forms also exist and are dosed 1-2x daily. Documented human dosing is sparse, so the most conservative pulse-cycle protocol is listed.
As a gene-expression bioregulator, any effects are expected to accrue gradually over a dosing cycle rather than acutely.
Sometimes stacked with other Khavinson bioregulators (e.g. Epitalon) in longevity-oriented research; otherwise typically run standalone.
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This page is educational reference material about compounds studied in research settings. It is not medical advice, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy, possess, or use any compound. Research findings described are from published literature; individual compounds may not be approved for human use. Talk to a licensed clinician about anything that affects your health.