Pralmorelin (

INN Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...

) (brand name GHRP Kaken 100; former developmental code names KP-102, GPA-748, WAY-GPA-748), also known as pralmorelin hydrochloride (

JAN Jan, JaN or JAN may refer to: Acronyms * Jackson, Mississippi (Amtrak station), US, Amtrak station code JAN * Jackson-Evers International Airport, Mississippi, US, IATA code * Jabhat al-Nusra (JaN), a Syrian militant group * Japanese Article Numb ...

) and pralmorelin dihydrochloride (

USAN 280px, "Samguk Sagi" Book 04. Silla's Records. In 512, Usan-guk（于山國）was Ulleungdo（鬱陵島） Usan-guk, or the State of Usan, occupied Ulleung-do and the adjacent islands during the Korean Three Kingdoms period. According to the ...

), as well as, notably, growth hormone-releasing peptide 2 (GHRP-2), is a

growth hormone secretagogue Growth hormone secretagogues or GH secretagogues (GHSs) are a class of drugs which act as secretagogues (i.e., induce the secretion) of growth hormone (GH). They include agonists of the ghrelin/growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR), such as ...

(GHS) used as a

diagnostic agent A medical test is a medical procedure performed to detect, diagnose, or monitor diseases, disease processes, susceptibility, or to determine a course of treatment. Medical tests such as, physical and visual exams, diagnostic imaging, geneti ...

that is marketed by

Kaken Pharmaceutical Cycloheximide is a naturally occurring fungicide produced by the bacterium ''Streptomyces griseus''. Cycloheximide exerts its effects by interfering with the translocation step in protein synthesis (movement of two tRNA molecules and mRNA in rel ...

in Japan in a single-dose formulation for the assessment of

growth hormone deficiency Growth hormone deficiency (GHD), or human growth hormone deficiency, is a medical condition resulting from not enough growth hormone (GH). Generally the most noticeable symptom is that an individual attains a short height. Newborns may also prese ...

(GHD). Pralmorelin is an orally-active,

synthetic Synthetic things are composed of multiple parts, often with the implication that they are artificial. In particular, 'synthetic' may refer to: Science * Synthetic chemical or compound, produced by the process of chemical synthesis * Synthetic o ...

peptide Peptides (, ) are short chains of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Long chains of amino acids are called proteins. Chains of fewer than twenty amino acids are called oligopeptides, and include dipeptides, tripeptides, and tetrapeptides. ...

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhal ...

, specifically, an analogue of

met-enkephalin Met-enkephalin, also known as metenkefalin (INN), sometimes referred to as opioid growth factor (OGF), is a naturally occurring, endogenous opioid peptide that has opioid effects of a relatively short duration. It is one of the two forms of enkeph ...

, with the

amino acid sequence Protein primary structure is the linear sequence of amino acids in a peptide or protein. By convention, the primary structure of a protein is reported starting from the amino-terminal (N) end to the carboxyl-terminal (C) end. Protein biosynthesi ...

D-Ala-D-(β-naphthyl)-Ala-Trp-D-Phe-Lys-NH₂. It acts as a ghrelin/growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR)

agonist An agonist is a chemical that activates a receptor to produce a biological response. Receptors are cellular proteins whose activation causes the cell to modify what it is currently doing. In contrast, an antagonist blocks the action of the ago ...

, and was the first of this class of drugs to be introduced clinically. Acute administration of the drug markedly increases the levels of plasma

growth hormone Growth hormone (GH) or somatotropin, also known as human growth hormone (hGH or HGH) in its human form, is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans and other animals. It is thus important in ...

(GH) and reliably induces sensations of

hunger In politics, humanitarian aid, and the social sciences, hunger is defined as a condition in which a person does not have the physical or financial capability to eat sufficient food to meet basic nutritional needs for a sustained period. In t ...

and increases

food intake Eating (also known as consuming) is the ingestion of food, typically to provide a heterotrophic organism with energy and to allow for growth. Animals and other heterotrophs must eat in order to survive — carnivores eat other animals, herb ...

in humans. Pralmorelin was also under investigation for the treatment of GHD and

short stature Short stature refers to a height of a human which is below typical. Whether a person is considered short depends on the context. Because of the lack of preciseness, there is often disagreement about the degree of shortness that should be called ' ...

( pituitary dwarfism), and made it to phase II

clinical trial Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human subject research, human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel v ...

s for these indications, but was ultimately never marketed for them. This may be because the ability of pralmorelin to increase plasma GH levels is significantly lower in people with GHD relative to healthy individuals.

References

Abandoned drugs Ghrelin receptor agonists Growth hormone secretagogues Peptides World Anti-Doping Agency prohibited substances {{systemic-hormonal-drug-stub

See also

References