Dihexa

What Is Dihexa?

Dihexa is a nonapeptide derivative of angiotensin IV developed at Washington State University. It is a potent HGF/MET system facilitator — binding hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and potentiating its signalling through the MET receptor tyrosine kinase. It is reportedly 7 orders of magnitude more potent than BDNF at facilitating synaptogenesis, and is highly lipophilic with excellent CNS penetration.

Key Mechanisms

• HGF/MET potentiation — binds HGF and enhances MET receptor signalling in hippocampal neurons
• Synaptogenesis — dramatically increases the formation of new synaptic connections
• Dendritic spine density — increases spine number and morphology in aged and diseased neural models
• Memory formation — facilitates long-term potentiation (LTP) mechanisms

Key References

1. McCoy AT et al. “Evaluation of metabolically stabilized angiotensin IV analogs as procognitive/antidementia agents.” J Pharmacol Exp Ther, 2013;344(1):141–154.