In mice exposed to a toxin called MPTP, the lungs became damaged and inflamed. The experimental drug hexarelin reduced this damage when given either before or after the toxin, and giving it afterward worked better than giving it beforehand.
Journal article — randomized controlled mouse study. Population: male Balb/C mice with MPTP-induced lung injury. Sample size: 50 male Balb/C mice. Interventions: hexarelin (10 μg/kg i.p., twice at 4-h intervals).
MPTP induced severe pulmonary injury with alveolar wall thickening, edema, hyperemia, and inflammatory infiltration. Compared with controls, MPTP increased Caspase-3 expression (p<0.001) and IL-6 expression (p=0.002) and reduced SOD immunoreactivity (p<0.001). Both hexarelin regimens significantly reduced histopathological damage and improved immunohistochemical parameters (p<0.05). Post-treatment produced greater recovery than pre-treatment, with lower apoptotic marker expression (p=0.005), lower inflammatory marker expression (p=0.050), and higher SOD levels (p=0.007).
This study adds lung tissue to the contexts in which hexarelin has been tested, showing protective and restorative effects against MPTP-induced injury in mice and suggesting that post-exposure treatment may be more effective than pre-exposure treatment. It does not establish clinical dosing, safety, or efficacy in humans, and it does not identify the precise molecular pathway by which hexarelin acts.
Peptide profiles: Hexarelin.
All indexed evidence: Hexarelin trials & papers.