Vilon

Lys-Glu, KE dipeptide, lysyl-glutamic acid, "thymus bioregulator"

Immune & bioregulators

Awaiting medical reviewEN ES DE FR PT ZH+ Follow for updates

Summary

Class: Synthetic dipeptide (2 amino acids) designed by the Khavinson group in St Petersburg as a short analogue of the thymus extract Thymalin
Mechanism: Proposed to enter cells and alter gene expression in immune and other tissues, nudging ageing cells toward a more active state; mechanism rests on cell-culture and modelling work
Routes studied: Subcutaneous and intraperitoneal injection (rodents); intranasal and oral in Russian clinical practice; community: oral, intranasal, subcutaneous
Dose range reported: Mice: 0.1 µg per animal, subcutaneously, 5 consecutive days per month for life. Rats: µg/kg range. Humans (Russian reports): 10-day courses, dose details poorly documented in English. Community: short courses, often following the "10 days per 3–6 months" pattern used by the originating group. No validated human dose
Half-life: Not characterised; a free dipeptide would be expected to be cleared or hydrolysed within minutes, and oral forms are likely digested
Storage: Lyophilised: refrigerate, dry, protect from light. Reconstituted: refrigerate, use within ~2–4 weeks (community practice)
Regulatory status: Not approved as a medicine anywhere to our knowledge †; sold in Russia and online as a supplement-type product

Doses are as reported in studies or by the community — never recommendations.

1What it is

Vilon is a two-amino-acid peptide, lysine joined to glutamic acid. It is one of a family of very short synthetic peptides created by Vladimir Khavinson and colleagues at the St Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, who analysed the amino-acid composition of organ extracts (in this case the thymus extract Thymalin) and designed minimal peptides meant to carry the same signal. The family includes Epitalon (see set 2), Livagen, Testagen, Thymogen and others.

This profile applies the Tier 2 rule on Khavinson-family compounds explicitly: nearly all published evidence comes from one originating group and its collaborators, much of it in Russian-language journals or in English translations of the Bulletin of Experimental Biology and Medicine, and independent replication from unrelated laboratories is essentially absent. That does not mean the findings are wrong; it means the grades below are capped at what the study designs support, and that readers should treat claims found online with corresponding caution.

2How it's thought to work

The originating group proposes that di- and tetrapeptides of this family pass through cell and nuclear membranes and bind to specific DNA sequences or histones, changing which genes are switched on (Khavinson 2014, and later modelling papers). Specific claims for Vilon include:

Increased proliferation and interleukin-2 production by thymocytes and lymphocytes in culture.

"Reactivation" of condensed chromatin in cultured lymphocytes from elderly people, measured by chromosome-banding techniques (Lezhava 2004, Biogerontology).

Altered expression of a panel of genes in mouse heart and brain tissue on microarray.

Reduced tumour incidence and modest lifespan extension in some rodent strains.

Proposed: a dipeptide small enough to reach the nucleus, where it is said to bind DNA and change which genes are read. The evidence is Russian cell and animal work that has not been replicated elsewhere.Schematic — not to scale

None of these proposed mechanisms has been confirmed by groups outside the originating network.

3What the research shows

Lifespan and tumour incidence in rodents

In female CBA mice given 0.1 µg subcutaneously for 5 consecutive days each month from age 6 months, Vilon was reported to slow the rate of ageing-related change and reduce the number of tumour-bearing animals; effects on mean lifespan were small or absent depending on the study, and in some outbred strains results were weaker (Anisimov 2001, Bull Exp Biol Med; Khavinson 2002, Neuro Endocrinol Lett review). Single group, single series of experiments. [2][3]

Lifespan in Drosophila

Vilon and Epitalon added to fly food increased mean lifespan in some experiments (Khavinson 2000, Dokl Biol Sci). Same group. [4]

Graded C/D

Immune function in rodents and in vitro

Reports of restored thymocyte proliferation, increased IL-2 and improved antibody responses in old or irradiated animals, and in cell culture.

Chromatin changes in elderly human lymphocytes

Cultured blood cells from people aged 75–88 showed decondensation of heterochromatin after Vilon exposure (Lezhava 2004, Biogerontology). only, small numbers. [5]

Graded — / B (Russian reports)

Human clinical use

Russian-language reports describe courses of Vilon in elderly patients with "immune insufficiency" and in combined protocols with Epithalamin; designs are open-label or poorly described in available translations. No randomised, placebo-controlled trial of Vilon in humans is known to us.

4Reported side effects and interactions

Literature-reported

the originating group reports no toxicity in rodents at doses many times above those used, and no adverse effects in clinical reports. The human safety file is thin and not independently generated.

Community-reported

essentially none beyond occasional "no effect"; some users report mild, transient fatigue or improved sleep, neither consistent.

Theoretical. a free Lys-Glu dipeptide is not expected to be toxic; the main risk is spending money and time on a compound whose human effect is unproven. Any genuine immune-stimulating action would carry the standard theoretical caution in autoimmune disease or active malignancy.

Interactions. none established.

Markers researchers commonly monitor

No compound-specific markers are established in any human study. Members who track immune-oriented protocols commonly discuss:

Marker	Why it's watched
CBC with differential, lymphocyte subsets (CD4/CD8) if available	the claimed target is thymus-dependent immunity; these are the accessible read-outs.
IL-2 or IL-6	mentioned in the rodent literature; rarely worth the cost in a self-study context.
hs-CRP	general inflammation baseline.
CMP	general baseline for any injected compound with no independent safety data.
Infection frequency log	the only practical outcome measure for a claimed immune effect; subjective and prone to bias.

Free for everyone. Safety information is never behind a paywall.

5Reconstitution and handling

Sold variously as capsules, nasal drops and powder. Injectable powder: with , swirl gently, refrigerate. Oral capsules sold under bioregulator brand names are frequently natural thymus extracts rather than the synthetic dipeptide; read the label for the actual content.

Open in calculator, pre-loaded →

6Commonly studied alongside

Epitalon / Epithalamin (set 2) — the originating group's standard pairing; Thymalin and Thymogen (profile 76); Livagen (profile 75). Combined human data are of the same quality as the single-agent data.

Informational cross-links. Not stack recommendations.

7Regulatory status by region

Region	Status (checked —)
United States	Not FDA-approved. Not known to be on the Category 2 compounding list †
European Union	Not authorised as a medicine; not an authorised novel food ingredient †
United Kingdom	Not licensed
Australia	Not approved
South Africa	Not registered
Sport	Not named by WADA; non-approved substances fall under S0 †

8Open questions

Does a free dipeptide survive digestion or plasma peptidases long enough to reach any tissue?
Has any laboratory unconnected with the originating group reproduced the lifespan, tumour or chromatin findings?
Whether the rodent gene-expression changes mean anything functionally.

9References

1Anisimov VN, Khavinson VKh, Morozov VG (2000). Immunomodulatory synthetic dipeptide L-Glu-L-Trp slows down aging process and inhibits spontaneous carcinogenesis in rats. Biogerontology. (Thymogen comparator used in the same programme; cite only if retained after verification) PubMed · DOI
2Anisimov VN et al. (2001). Effect of Vilon on biological age and lifespan in mice. Bull Exp Biol Med. PubMed
3Khavinson VKh (2002). Peptides and ageing. Neuro Endocrinol Lett (Suppl). PubMed
4Khavinson VKh et al. (2000). Effect of Epithalon and Vilon on the lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster. Dokl Biol Sci. PubMed
5Lezhava T et al. (2004). Bioregulator Vilon-induced reactivation of chromatin in cultured lymphocytes from old people. Biogerontology. PubMed · DOI
6Khavinson VKh, Solovyov AY, Tarnovskaya SI, Lin'kova NS (2013/2014). Mechanism of biological activity of short peptides: cell penetration and epigenetic regulation of gene expression. Biology Bulletin Reviews. PubMed

References are being resolved to PubMed/DOI identifiers; links search PubMed for the citation until then.

† Being confirmed by our reviewers against current sources.

10Community

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Self-reported side effects Phase 2

Not enough data yet. 0 of the 50 members needed have logged this compound for 4+ weeks. We don't show anything below 50, so no one can be identified.

11Page history

26 Oct 2026Profile published — awaiting medical review

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