Bronchogen

Bronchogen is a synthetic tetrapeptide from the Khavinson bioregulator series, composed of alanine, glutamic acid, aspartic acid and leucine residues (formula C18H30N4O9, molecular weight 446.5 g/mol, CAS 857267-12-0). As an unmodified short peptide carrying two acidic side chains, it belongs to the group of di- to tetrapeptides this research group has examined for direct interactions with DNA. In the literature it is associated with bronchial epithelial tissue, where it has been examined in cell-culture and rat models.

Bronchogen in the research literature

Biophysical work reported that bronchogen binds double-stranded DNA and raised its melting temperature by about 3.1 °C in differential scanning microcalorimetry, without selectivity for adenine-thymine or guanine-cytosine regions. Fluorescence-quenching studies described preferential binding to CTG-containing deoxyribooligonucleotides.

In cell culture, bronchogen was reported to increase expression of the differentiation factors CXCL12 and Hoxa3 in bronchial epithelial cells, with a more pronounced effect in late-passage cultures. In a rat model of chronic intermittent nitrogen dioxide exposure, studies examined bronchial epithelial morphology, secretory IgA and surfactant protein B levels, and cytokine and cell profiles in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid.