Vilon
KE peptide, Lys-Glu, lysyl-glutamate, thymic dipeptide
Vilon is a two-amino-acid peptide, the shortest of the Khavinson series, derived from analysis of the thymic extract Thymalin and studied as an immunomodulator and geroprotector. It has the largest literature of the bioregulator series, roughly sixty indexed papers, including mouse lifespan and tumour studies. It also has the same defining weakness: nearly all of it comes from one research network, with no controlled human trial.
Mechanism
Vilon is a dipeptide of lysine and glutamate, and its design followed the same logic as the rest of the series: amino acid analysis of Thymalin, a crude calf thymus peptide extract, identified abundant residues, and a short peptide was synthesised from them. At two residues it is essentially the minimal case for the Khavinson model, which makes it both the clearest test of that model and the hardest version to defend, since a dipeptide carries almost no sequence information with which to select a promoter.
The proposed mechanism is nuclear entry and direct DNA interaction altering transcription. Studies from the group report that KE modulates interleukin-2 gene expression in splenocytes and in hypothalamic structures, alters lymphocyte heterochromatin structure in cells from elderly donors, and influences expression of SIRT1, PARP1 and PARP2 in ageing human mesenchymal stem cells. An independent Italian group examined KE alongside other short peptides in the THP-1 monocyte and macrophage line and reported increased proliferation, altered STAT1 and STAT3 phosphorylation, and suppression of lipopolysaccharide-induced TNF and IL-6, with reduced monocyte adhesion to activated endothelium.
That Italian work matters because it is one of the few instances of a laboratory outside the originating network reporting measurable effects for a Khavinson peptide. It is in vitro, in a cell line, at defined concentrations, and it reports immune modulation rather than anything about ageing, but it is genuine external data, which most compounds in this class do not have.
What the research shows
The rodent work is the most substantial claim. Two studies from 2000 reported that Vilon increased lifespan in mice and inhibited the growth of spontaneous tumours. Further work examined Vilon and Epitalon in HER-2/neu transgenic mammary carcinogenesis. A 2009 review from the originating group summarised 35 years of peptide bioregulator work on cancer prevention. These findings have not been replicated by an independent laboratory, and mouse lifespan studies are notoriously sensitive to husbandry, diet, pathogen status and statistical handling, which is why independent replication is the standard the field applies.
Mechanistic and ex vivo work is more varied and includes the external THP-1 study and a 2023 report on SIRT1 and PARP gene expression in ageing human mesenchymal stem cells. Studies on lymphocyte chromatin used cells from elderly human donors, which is ex vivo human tissue rather than a clinical trial and measured no clinical outcome.
Human clinical data is absent. Vilon appears in Russian-language clinical reports from the originating institute, typically small, unblinded and often administering peptides in combination, and no registered trial exists in any international registry. The frequently encountered claim that Vilon extends human lifespan derives from the 2003 Neuroendocrinology Letters study of Thymalin and Epithalamin, the crude extracts, not the synthetic dipeptide. That conflation between extract and synthetic peptide runs through the entire promotional literature for this class and is the single most common misrepresentation to watch for.
Evidence assessment
Preclinical only
Around sixty indexed papers, dominated by the originating network, comprising mouse lifespan and tumour studies plus in vitro work; no controlled human trial exists and the human longevity claims derive from crude thymic and pineal extracts, not this dipeptide.
Tiers are applied consistently across the library and re-checked when new trials read out. Read the grading method.
Key studies
A synthetic dipeptide vilon (L-Lys-L-Glu) inhibits growth of spontaneous tumors and increases life span of mice Preclinical only
Vilon was reported to increase mouse lifespan and reduce spontaneous tumour growth.
Effect of vilon on biological age and lifespan in mice Preclinical only
Reported reduction in biological age markers and increased lifespan in treated mice.
Peptides Regulating Proliferative Activity and Inflammatory Pathways in the Monocyte/Macrophage THP-1 Cell Line Preclinical only
Peptides increased proliferation, shifted STAT1 and STAT3 phosphorylation, suppressed LPS-induced TNF and IL-6, and reduced monocyte adhesion to activated endothelium.
KE peptide regulates SIRT1, PARP1, PARP2 gene expression and protein synthesis in human mesenchymal stem cells aging Preclinical only
KE was reported to alter expression of SIRT1, PARP1 and PARP2 during replicative ageing.
Effects of short peptides on lymphocyte chromatin in senile subjects Preclinical only
Short peptides including Vilon altered heterochromatin structure in lymphocytes from senile subjects.
Peptides of pineal gland and thymus prolong human life Limited evidence
Reported substantial mortality reductions in groups receiving thymic and pineal peptide extracts.
Safety
No formal safety characterisation to modern standards. Rodent studies from the originating group did not report overt toxicity, but were not designed or reported as safety studies. There is no human adverse event database, no dose-ranging and no toxicology available for independent scrutiny. One consideration specific to an immunomodulator: effects on immune function in people with autoimmune disease, active infection or malignancy have never been studied in either direction. Material sold online is unregulated.
Regulatory status
| Jurisdiction | Status |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | No MHRA marketing authorisation. Supply for human use engages the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 regardless of a 'research use only' label. |
| United States | Not approved by the FDA, never studied under an investigational new drug application, absent from clinical trial registries. Sold as a research chemical. |
| WADA (sport) | Not individually named on the Prohibited List but captured by section S0 (non-approved substances), prohibited at all times. Immunomodulators are of particular interest to anti-doping authorities. |
Questions
No. Thymalin is a crude calf thymus peptide extract. Vilon is the synthetic dipeptide Lys-Glu, designed after amino acid analysis of that extract. The human longevity study most often cited for Vilon actually administered Thymalin and a pineal extract, not the dipeptide.
Two mouse studies from 2000 reported increased lifespan and reduced spontaneous tumours. Neither has been independently replicated in over twenty years. There is no human lifespan evidence for the dipeptide itself.
Yes, and this is unusual for the class. An Italian group reported that KE altered proliferation, STAT signalling and inflammatory cytokine output in a human monocyte cell line. It is in vitro work on immune signalling, not evidence of anti-ageing effects, but it is genuinely external.
This is the central difficulty. A dipeptide carries almost no sequence information with which to recognise a specific promoter, and it is a substrate for ubiquitous dipeptidases that would degrade it within seconds to minutes in plasma. Neither problem has been addressed by the originating group.