AOD-9604

AOD-9604 is a synthetic peptide analogue of the lipolytic domain located at the C-terminus of growth hormone. Its sequence corresponds to residues 177 to 191 of the native hormone extended by an N-terminal tyrosine, giving the molecular formula C78H123N23O23S2 and a molar mass of about 1,815 g/mol. The fragment was developed to study the lipid-metabolism activity attributed to this region separately from the rest of the parent protein, and it has been examined side by side with the intact hormone in rodent research.

AOD-9604 in the research literature

In Zucker rats, chronic exposure to AOD-9604 was reported to increase lipolytic activity in adipose tissue, and insulin-sensitivity measurements in the same work did not show the change observed with chronic exposure to the intact hormone. Mouse studies found that both the fragment and intact growth hormone raised beta3-adrenergic receptor RNA expression in adipose tissue. Experiments in beta3-adrenergic receptor knockout mice indicated that the lipolytic actions are not mediated directly through that receptor, although acute measurements in the knockout animals still showed increased energy expenditure and lipid oxidation.

Separately, a rabbit model of collagenase-induced cartilage degeneration examined AOD-9604 alone and combined with hyaluronic acid, reporting lower morphological and histopathological degeneration scores than in control joints.