Immune & inflammation
Vilon
A dipeptide (Lys-Glu) studied in mouse immune cells, plus one older observational Russian report in people with diabetes; no controlled efficacy trial.
- How settled this rating is:
- very-low confidence in the current evidence rating
- Routes studied:
- Not established · Subcutaneous injection, Oral (marketed but never approved)
- Also known as:
- KE, Lys-Glu
- Last reviewed:
- 2026-09-26
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Evidence passport
Vilon
A one-screen evidence identity for this compound. These fields describe research maturity, confidence and legal status. They are not a safety guarantee, efficacy percentage or recommendation.
- Evidence level
- L1Theory only
- Confidence
- Very low confidence in rating
- Regulatory status
- Not approved for this use
- Development status
- Preclinical
Evidence strength
Higher = more and better-quality human evidence. It does not mean the effect is bigger or that the compound works for you.
Higher = more mature, better-documented human safety data. It does not mean the compound is safer than one with a lower number.
The 0-100 values rate the strength and maturity of evidence, not how effective or safe the compound is.
- Evidence base
- Mostly animal and laboratory research
- Furthest established stage
- Not established
- Human research maturity
- Preclinical, with one small non-randomised human report
- Source curation
- Sources fully curated
Routes recorded
Most of this evidence comes from animals and cells
Overview
Higher = more and better-quality human evidence. It does not mean the effect is bigger or that the compound works for you.
Higher = more animal, tissue or cell research. Preclinical results are a starting point, not proof of a human benefit.
Higher = more mature, better-documented human safety data. It does not mean the compound is safer than one with a lower number.
How to read these scores
Every number here rates the evidence, not the compound. They are editorial 0-100 strength ratings, not percentages, and not a rating out of five stars.
- Human efficacy evidence strength — Higher = more and better-quality human evidence. It does not mean the effect is bigger or that the compound works for you.
- Preclinical evidence strength — Higher = more animal, tissue or cell research. Preclinical results are a starting point, not proof of a human benefit.
- Human safety evidence strength — Higher = more mature, better-documented human safety data. It does not mean the compound is safer than one with a lower number. A score of 80 does not mean “80% safe”.
- Evidence level (L0-L5) — the strongest type of study behind the compound, from anecdote (L0) to large replicated human trials (L5). It is a description of the study evidence, not a quality, safety or recommendation rating.
- Confidence — how likely we think it is that this rating changes as new research lands. Low confidence means the picture is unsettled, not that the compound is bad.
None of these ratings is medical advice, a safety guarantee, or a recommendation to use anything. How we grade evidence.
How far human research has progressed: Preclinical, with one small non-randomised human report
Routes & formulations
Marketed / research routes — never approved
Routes used in the older human report are not stated in its abstract. No route is validated.
Route availability is not evidence of efficacy, and evidence from one route does not transfer to another. The Registry never provides dosing or sourcing information.
Peptide lifecycle
Discovery
Preclinical
Phase I
Phase II
Phase III
Approved
What it is
A synthetic dipeptide, Lys-Glu, from the St Petersburg bioregulator network. Its sequence is stated directly in the primary papers cited below.
What people claim
- Immune modulation
- Thymus support
- Anti-ageing
What the evidence actually says
Two 2002 lab studies in mouse cells reported effects on thymocyte proliferation and on interleukin-2 gene activity in splenocytes. A 2007 Russian report described Vilon added to usual care in older people with type 1 diabetes; its abstract gives no sample size, control group or randomisation, so it cannot show that Vilon works.
Related evidence
Useful next reads based on this compound — not recommendations.
- Related compound
Bronchogen evidence profile
A Khavinson-series tetrapeptide studied in a rat model of lung damage from nitrogen dioxide; no human study. Its reported sequence is inconsistent across sources.
- Compare
Compare Vilon vs Bronchogen evidence
Same questions, same fields, side by side — including how much human evidence exists.
- Context
Research Desk
How to read animal, early-phase and controlled human studies without over-reading them.
- Context
Safety Centre
What approved, investigational and unapproved actually mean for documented human safety.
Human evidence
- Kuznik et al. 2007 (Russian): Vilon added to complex therapy in elderly patients with type 1 diabetes; reported changes in coagulation and immune markers and, 'in most cases', lower insulin needs. The abstract states no sample size, control group or blinding (PMID 18306698).
- No registered, controlled efficacy trial was identified.
Preclinical evidence
- Mouse thymocytes: co-mitogenic effect and sphingomyelinase activation (Khavinson et al., Bull Exp Biol Med 2002, PMID 12420072).
- Mouse (CBA) splenocytes in vitro: increased interleukin-2 mRNA (Kazakova et al., Bull Exp Biol Med 2002, PMID 12447482).
Animal and cell findings are Level 1–2 evidence.
Mechanism and pathways
- Proposed immune-cell signalling effects via the sphingomyelin pathway; mouse-cell data only.
Safety and unknowns
- The 2007 report was not designed to establish safety.
- Reported changes in clotting markers and insulin requirement are reasons for caution in people with diabetes, not a demonstrated benefit.
- Material sold online is unregulated: identity, purity, sterility and labelled quantity are separate questions from what the published molecule does.
Cancer relevance
This section covers questions raised by how the compound works in the body, plus anything regulators and trial teams keep an eye on. It is not a statement that this compound causes cancer — for most compounds here, no human data exist in either direction.
No established human signal
Regulatory status
Regulatory decisions apply to specific jurisdictions, products, formulations and indications. An approval elsewhere is not automatically an approval in your country.
Check the regulatory note and linked primary sources for jurisdiction-specific details.
Not an approved medicine in any major jurisdiction. Sale as a 'research chemical' is a legal and supply-chain statement, not evidence of benefit or harm.
Evidence grade
Mechanistic rationale or early development without qualifying compound-specific outcome evidence. A registered trial is not a result.
What would change our rating?
- A registered, randomised, controlled human trial with pre-specified outcomes.
- Independent replication outside the originating network.
References and sources
Source transparency
A provenance snapshot of this profile. Counts show what kinds of sources are cited, not how much scientific weight each source deserves.
- Last editorial review
- 2026-09-26
- Recently reviewed · 20 days ago
- Linked curated sources
- 3
- Sources still pending
- 0
- External specialist reviews
- 0
- None recorded for this profile
Review provenance
Registry editorial review: Colin Jackson-White, creator and editor, who is not a doctor or clinician. External specialist review is credited only when a named reviewer has completed a review of this exact profile.
Literature-discovery and AI tools may help locate or challenge candidate evidence, but they are not counted as evidence sources here. Registry judgements are tied to the underlying papers, trial records, regulator documents and official study records.
- Peer-reviewedKhavinson et al. Effects of short peptides on thymocyte blast transformation and signal transduction along the sphingomyelin pathway. Bull Exp Biol Med 2002 (PMID 12420072)PMID: 12420072
- Peer-reviewedKazakova et al. In vitro effect of short peptides on expression of interleukin-2 gene in splenocytes. Bull Exp Biol Med 2002 (PMID 12447482)PMID: 12447482
- Peer-reviewedKuznik et al. Effect of Vilon on immune status and coagulation haemostasis in patients of different age with diabetes mellitus. Adv Gerontol 2007 (PMID 18306698, Russian)PMID: 18306698
Source hierarchy: regulatory documents and trial registries first, peer-reviewed work next, sponsor material flagged as non-independent. We never use supplier or clinic marketing as evidence, and where a verified source has not yet been curated we say so rather than inventing one.
Evidence change history
These entries record changes to our assessment of the published evidence — not changes to the compound itself.
No recorded changes yet. Baseline position set on 2026-09-26.