Vilon

Overview

Vilon is a synthetic dipeptide — Lys-Glu (L-Lysyl-L-Glutamic acid), the so-called "KE dipeptide." It is one of the shortest of Vladimir Khavinson's "short peptide bioregulators," developed at the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, modeled on thymus-derived peptides and framed as an immunomodulator and geroprotector.

The honest evidence picture is limited and mostly preclinical. The strongest peer-reviewed data are a single mouse study (2000) reporting modest lifespan extension and reduced spontaneous tumors, and a single cell-culture study (2022) reporting effects on monocyte/macrophage proliferation and inflammatory signaling. Proposed molecular mechanisms — including direct DNA/histone binding and "gene reactivation" — are largely hypothesis-level extrapolation from the Khavinson group. Effects reported are modest, come from a single research lineage, and have seen no independent Western replication and no registered human randomized controlled trial.

Chemistry and structure

The IUPAC-style name for the confirmed structure is (2S)-2-[[(2S)-2,6-diaminohexanoyl]amino]pentanedioic acid — i.e. the amide of L-lysine and L-glutamic acid. Values above are drawn from PubChem CID 7010502. The vendor-circulated form "45234-02-04" is a malformed typo and should not be used.

Mechanism of action

• Immunomodulation of monocytes/macrophages — in LPS-stimulated cells, Vilon increased proliferation and ERK1/2 phosphorylation while reducing pro-inflammatory TNF and IL-6, and downregulated monocyte–endothelial adhesion. [In vitro] (Avolio, Martinotti et al., Int J Mol Sci 2022, THP-1 monocyte/macrophage line)
• Geroprotective / anti-tumor signaling — modest lifespan extension, reduced spontaneous tumor incidence, and increased physical activity in aged mice. [Animal] (Anisimov, Khavinson et al., Dokl Biol Sci 2000, female CBA mice)
• Direct binding to double-stranded DNA/histones and epigenetic "gene reactivation" — the general "short peptide bioregulator" mechanism proposed by the Khavinson group. [Hypothesis] (Khavinson-group framing; not independently established in the reviewed sources)

Research and evidence

Human evidence. Human evidence is limited, older, and almost entirely from the single Russian (Khavinson / St. Petersburg) research lineage; there is no independent Western replication and no registered high-quality human randomized controlled trial in the sources reviewed. Russian-language reports describe use as an immunomodulator/geroprotector in geriatric contexts [Human — low quality, single lineage], but these could not be verified to modern RCT standards here. In short: no well-established human clinical trials. Human dosing, pharmacokinetics, and safety profile are not established in verifiable sources.

Status and regulation

Vilon is not FDA- or EMA-approved. There is no US or EU marketing authorization; it is sold only as a research reagent ("research use only"). It has reportedly been used/registered within Russia in the Khavinson bioregulator lineage, but no authoritative FDA/EMA label or Western regulatory approval was found, and the exact Russian registration status (if any) could not be verified from a primary regulatory source. It should be treated as an unapproved investigational substance: it becomes an unauthorised medicine the moment it is intended for human use.

WADA status: no source was found asserting Vilon is on the WADA Prohibited List, so no class code is stated here. WADA sport-prohibition is a separate axis from legality.

Safety

• Human safety profile is not established in verifiable sources — no toxicology, pharmacokinetics, or adverse-event data of adequate quality were found.
• The biological effects reported are modest and derive from animal and cell-culture models, which do not establish safety in humans.
• Material sold as a research reagent is not a quality-controlled medicine and may vary in identity, purity, and sterility.
• No human dosing has been established; any human use is experimental and unsupervised by design.

Legal status

Vilon's regulatory classification is a research reagent ("research use only") — it is not approved for human use in the US or EU. "No specific ban" is not affirmative permission: a compound becomes an unauthorised medicine the moment it is intended for human use, regardless of how it is labeled at point of sale. Regulatory status differs by country and can change. This is not legal advice — verify the status in your own jurisdiction. (Dated 2026-07-08.)

How it compares

• Thymalin — a multi-peptide calf-thymus extract from the same Khavinson school; Vilon, by contrast, is a single defined synthetic dipeptide. The 2022 THP-1 cell study tested both. They share the pattern of limited, single-lineage evidence.
• Epitalon — another Khavinson "short peptide bioregulator" (a synthetic tetrapeptide) marketed for longevity, sharing Vilon's pattern of bold geroprotective claims resting largely on the same research lineage with limited independent replication.

Common misconceptions

• "Vilon is a proven anti-aging drug." The geroprotective data are a single mouse study with modest effects [Animal]; there is no well-established human trial. It is not a proven human anti-aging therapy.
• "Its CAS number is 45234-02-04." That vendor-circulated form is a malformed typo. The PubChem-confirmed CAS is 45234-02-4.
• "It reactivates genes by binding DNA." DNA/histone binding and "gene reactivation" is a hypothesis-level claim from the developers' group [Hypothesis], not independently verified in the reviewed sources.
• "Not banned means legal to take." No specific ban is not affirmative permission; Vilon is a research reagent and becomes an unauthorised medicine the moment it is intended for human use.
• "Vilon and Thymalin are the same." Vilon is a single synthetic dipeptide (Lys-Glu); Thymalin is a multi-peptide thymus extract. They are different products from the same research school.

Russian research

Vilon (the Lys-Glu / "KE" dipeptide) is one of the shortest of the Khavinson bioregulators, and — like the rest of the class — its evidence traces almost entirely to the single Russian lineage of V.Kh. Khavinson and the St. Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology (with V.N. Anisimov on the aging work). It is surfaced here for completeness; no independent Western replication and no registered human trial were located.

• [Animal] Lifespan and spontaneous tumours. Subcutaneous Vilon in female CBA mice was reported to inhibit growth of spontaneous tumours and increase life span. Source: Khavinson & Anisimov, "A synthetic dipeptide vilon (L-Lys-L-Glu) inhibits growth of spontaneous tumors and increases life span of mice," Dokl Biol Sci 2000 (PMID 10944717). Caveat: the PubMed record carries no abstract, so the specific "20–40% lifespan extension" figure circulated on vendor sites cannot be tied to this paper and is not stated here as fact.

• [In vitro] IL-2 gene expression. The dipeptide Lys-Glu stimulated interleukin-2 (IL-2) gene expression in mouse spleen lymphocytes in a dose- and time-dependent way; the authors frame Lys-Glu as "the shortest regulatory fragment" acting on the IL-2 transcription machinery. Source: Khavinson, Morozov, Malinin et al., "Effect of peptide Lys-Glu on interleukin-2 gene expression in lymphocytes," Bull Exp Biol Med 2000 (PMID 11177276). Note the paper says "Lys-Glu," not the trade name "Vilon."

• [In vitro · human cells] Chromatin reactivation in cells from old donors. Vilon induced decondensation of facultative heterochromatin and reactivated ribosomal genes in cultured lymphocytes from elderly people, with the effect increasing with donor age; it did not decondense structural (pericentromeric) heterochromatin. Source: Lezhava, Khavinson, Monaselidze et al., "Bioregulator Vilon-induced reactivation of chromatin in cultured lymphocytes from old people," Biogerontology 2004 (PMID 15105581). This is a cell-culture observation, not clinical benefit.

• [In vitro] Monocyte/macrophage signalling (shared panel). In the human THP-1 study, Vilon-specific effects were modest — only a "small modulatory capacity" on ERK1/2, plus an additive ERK1/2 phosphorylation with LPS that it shared with Epitalon. The broader "lowered TNF/IL-6 and modulated proliferation" results were reported collectively for all five tested peptides, not isolated to Vilon. Source: Avolio, Martinotti, Khavinson et al., Int J Mol Sci 2022 (PMID 35408963; PMC8999041).

Do not attribute telomerase effects to Vilon. The telomere/telomerase-lengthening claims that circulate on vendor pages belong to Epitalon (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly), a different Khavinson peptide — not to Lys-Glu. The Vilon chromatin paper above concerns heterochromatin decondensation, not telomere length. Likewise, "IGF-1 / FOXO1 / TERT / NF-κB regulation" claims for Vilon could not be tied to any Vilon-specific primary source.

Unverifiable / cautioned. The exact Russian registration category (registered drug vs supplement/parapharmaceutical) could not be confirmed against a primary registry; human dosing, pharmacokinetics and long-term safety are not established in any verifiable source.

On quality. Vilon's base is small, older, single-group and dominated by in-vitro and one abstract-less mouse study — real, defined chemistry (PubChem CID 7010502), modest reported effects, no human RCT and no independent Western replication.