Evidence context
Preclinical research
Evidence is preclinical and expression-level only, for exact Cortagen (Ala-Glu-Asp-Pro/AEDP). Supported-indirect in this record means Cortagen was experimentally administered/exposed and interleukin-2 (IL-2) mRNA/gene-expression changes were measured, without any physical target engagement, binding, receptor occupancy, or promoter occupancy being shown. The primary source (PMID 12447482, Kazakova et al. 2002, Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine) reported that in cultured splenocytes from CBA mice, exact Cortagen, studied alongside Vilon and Epithalon, activated/modulated IL-2 mRNA synthesis in vitro in the absence of specific inductors; the magnitude of IL-2 mRNA synthesis depended on peptide identity, concentration, and treatment duration, with Vilon and Epithalon more potent and Cortagen producing a less pronounced effect. This comparator finding bounds Cortagen's own result and must never be read as transferring Vilon or Epithalon's potency or mechanistic effects to Cortagen. The supporting source (PMID 16224591, Kazakova et al. 2005, Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine) used in situ hybridization on paraffin sections of rat brain to report that Cortagen, Vilon, and Epithalon modulated IL-2 gene expression in cells of some hypothalamic structures in vivo, with effects depending on timing/terms and routes of administration; this study does not separate a Cortagen-specific magnitude or direction from the co-studied peptides, and no such magnitude or direction is imported here. Both core studies share overlapping authorship (Kazakova, Barabanova, Khavinson, Glushikhina, Malinin, Korneva) and represent two distinct preclinical model contexts from the same broader research lineage, not independent replication across unrelated laboratories. No direct Cortagen-IL-2 protein binding, IL-2 receptor agonism, IL-2 promoter occupancy, direct Cortagen-DNA binding, or chromatin occupancy is established by either source. No human immune-enhancement, neurological-recovery, cognitive-enhancement, neuroprotective, anti-aging, longevity-extension, rejuvenation, therapeutic IL-2 modulation, safety, or approved-treatment claim is established by this record.
