Smakhtin’s 2004 GHK dissertation: animal doses, liver histology and immune results
M. Yu. Smakhtin · 2004 · Влияние регуляторных пептидов на гепатоцеллюлярные и иммунную функции организма. Doctor of Biological Sciences author’s abstract, Moscow, 2004; work conducted at Kursk State Medical University.
Reported findings and study design
Reported findings
GHK showed endpoint- and schedule-dependent effects. Selected numbers below are provisional transcriptions, with adverse findings retained beside the proliferation results.
CBA mice and Wistar rats; saline-controlled GHK dose series, liver histology and antigen-response assays. Table 1 n=8 per condition, Table 2 n=8, Table 3 n=9; program-wide totals are not assay group sizes.
Dose, route and schedule
GHK 0.5, 1.5, 5, 50, 150 or 450 µg/kg per intraperitoneal injection, 24 hours apart. Liver experiments used 5 or 10 injections. Immune work used a 10-day course and separate four-day before- or after-immunization schedules; Table 2 also has a combined before-and-after column. Saline controls.
Protocol source ↗ · Methods in the transcribed 2004 author’s abstract; original scan pending
| Measure | Result | Comparison, timing and statistics |
|---|---|---|
| Liver mitotic index at 1.5 µg/kg | 12.7±2.5‰ versus 3.8±0.8‰ with saline | Wistar rats; Table 1, n=8 per condition; mean±SEM; ‰ means per thousand, not percent · Ten daily intraperitoneal injections; original scan pending |
| Higher-exposure liver findings | 450 µg/kg worsened microstructural organization and produced dystrophic changes; 150 µg/kg worsened morphology and serum indices in toxic liver injury | Narrative findings; no reconstructed injury-score magnitude |
| Neutrophil reserve: lower versus higher exposure | 1.5 µg/kg: 24.9±2.6%; 450 µg/kg: 5.3±0.6%; saline: 12.0±1.1% | Table 3, n=9; mean±SEM; intraperitoneal dosing; selected transcribed cells |
| Dose with no significant activity described | 0.5 µg/kg: no significant hepatotropic or immunotropic activity in the narrative | Absence of a detected effect is not a human safety threshold |
| Mitotic index at 50 and 150 µg/kg | 13.7±2.8‰ and 12.6±2.5‰, respectively; saline 3.8±0.8‰ | Cell division remained elevated; this does not rule out tissue injury · Ten-day course; Table 1, n=8; mean±SEM |
| Antibody-producing cells at 1.5 µg/kg | 22.3±3.8 versus 36.1±6.4 ×10³ cells per spleen with saline | Table 2, n=8; mean±SEM; before-and-after-immunization column, not a neutrophil assay · Antibody assessment on day 5 after immunization; schedule differs from before-only and after-only columns |
| Antibody-producing cells at 150 and 450 µg/kg | 10.2±1.7 and 9.3±1.5 ×10³ cells per spleen; saline 36.1±6.4 ×10³ | Table 2 combined before-and-after schedule, n=8; mean±SEM |
| Timing of antibody suppression | Narrative onset at 1.5 µg/kg before and after immunization, 5 µg/kg before only, and 50 µg/kg after only | The same nominal dose can affect endpoints differently depending on timing |
| Neutrophil phagocytic index | 1.5 µg/kg: 37.8±3.5%; 450 µg/kg: 22.4±2.7%; saline: 41.4±3.9% | Table 3, n=9; mean±SEM. Narrative describes no significant phagocytosis change at 1.5/5 µg/kg and suppression at 150/450 µg/kg |
| Toxic liver injury at 1.5 µg/kg | Weak hepatoprotection, improved morphology and selected serum markers described | Acute/chronic toxic injury models; no numerical serum estimate reconstructed here |
| Toxic liver injury at 150 µg/kg | Stronger immunosuppression and worse liver injury despite increased mitotic activity | Narrative morphology and serum findings; greater proliferation is not equivalent to recovery |
| Dose, route and schedule | GHK 0.5, 1.5, 5, 50, 150 or 450 µg/kg intraperitoneally at 24-hour intervals | Liver: 5 or 10 injections; immune work: ten-day and separate antigen-timing schedules |
| Combination experiments | GHK plus DSLET sometimes enhanced repair-related responses; parent ACTH(4–10) could attenuate GHK effects | Context-dependent qualitative findings; no formal synergy, human benefit, DSIP or Semax effect established |
| Program totals versus assay groups | 2,505 mice and 2,060 rats across the entire multi-peptide program; selected GHK tables n=8 or n=9 | Do not present the total as thousands of animals treated with GHK |
| Extraction gaps and uncertainty | Some cells and significance marks are damaged; selected legible cells only | Original 290-page thesis and authenticated author’s-abstract scan not recovered; exact pairwise p-values not reconstructed |
Selected Table 1 cells: ten-day liver mitotic index
| GHK per injection | Mitotic index (‰), mean±SEM | Source context |
|---|---|---|
| Saline | 3.8±0.8 | n=8 per condition |
| 0.5 µg/kg | 5.8±1.3 | Ten daily intraperitoneal injections |
| 1.5 µg/kg | 12.7±2.5 | Ten daily intraperitoneal injections |
| 50 µg/kg | 13.7±2.8 | Ten daily intraperitoneal injections |
| 150 µg/kg | 12.6±2.5 | Ten daily intraperitoneal injections |
Selected legible cells from the author’s-abstract transcription, not visually verified against an original scan. Mean±SEM; damaged significance superscripts are not reconstructed. Omitted or unreadable cells are not zero. The 5 µg/kg uncertainty is damaged and the 450 µg/kg ten-day mitotic-index cell is absent. ‰ is per thousand.
Selected Table 2 cells: antibody-producing cells, before-and-after schedule
| GHK per injection | Cells per spleen (×10³), mean±SEM |
|---|---|
| Saline | 36.1±6.4 |
| 0.5 µg/kg | 34.4±5.1 |
| 1.5 µg/kg | 22.3±3.8 |
| 5 µg/kg | 21.1±3.2 |
| 150 µg/kg | 10.2±1.7 |
| 450 µg/kg | 9.3±1.5 |
Selected legible cells from the author’s-abstract transcription, not visually verified against an original scan. Mean±SEM; damaged significance superscripts are not reconstructed. Omitted or unreadable cells are not zero. n=8. Selected combined-timing column only; the 50 µg/kg cell is OCR-corrupted. The before-only and after-only schedules are different comparisons.
Selected Table 3 cells: neutrophil function
| GHK per injection | Phagocytic index (%), mean±SEM | Functional reserve (%), mean±SEM |
|---|---|---|
| Saline | 41.4±3.9 | 12.0±1.1 |
| 1.5 µg/kg | 37.8±3.5 | 24.9±2.6 |
| 450 µg/kg | 22.4±2.7 | 5.3±0.6 |
Selected legible cells from the author’s-abstract transcription, not visually verified against an original scan. Mean±SEM; damaged significance superscripts are not reconstructed. Omitted or unreadable cells are not zero. n=9. Selected conditions only; improved functional reserve does not exclude antibody suppression in another assay.
These findings separate liver-cell proliferation, tissue integrity, neutrophil function and antibody responses. Lower exposure was not uniformly immune-stimulating, and higher proliferation did not imply healthier tissue. No human regimen or safe-dose range can be inferred. GHK is distinct from GHK-Cu; DSLET is not DSIP and ACTH(4–10) is not Semax.
Source for the extracted data ↗ · Checked 2026-11-08
Molekul summary of the linked publication. Educational information, not medical advice. Seek qualified healthcare help for medical conditions.
Methods, limitations & source review
Study limitations
- Animal endpoints do not establish human efficacy, a safe human dose or long-term safety. These were not GHK-Cu administration experiments.
- The 2002 paper, 2003 paper, 2004 dissertation and related patent belong to the same research program; independence of their animal cohorts is unresolved.
- Third-party transcription, not an authenticated original scan or the complete 290-page thesis. OCR errors affect some cells and comparison symbols.
- Selected tables give M±m (mean±SEM). Exact pairwise significance assignments cannot be reconstructed reliably from damaged superscripts. Randomization, masking, power and full animal flow are unresolved.
- Five- and ten-injection liver experiments and before/after-immunization immune schedules are distinct. A favorable neutrophil endpoint does not establish overall immune benefit.
- DSLET is a delta-opioid peptide, not DSIP. Parent ACTH(4–10) is not Semax; their findings are not assigned to those cards.
Publication counts are not counts of independent trials. Reviews, translations and reports sharing participants may overlap. Findings apply to the studied preparation, population and endpoints.
Document format: Third-party HTML transcription of the Russian author’s abstract; original scan not recovered
Review depth: Methods, narrative results and selected legible table cells extracted from transcription; original tables not visually verified
Related-report group: kursk-ghk-liver-2002-2004. Reports in this group are not assumed to be independent trials.
Source access and review scope
Recovered author’s-abstract transcription, including methods and Tables 1–3. The described 290-page full thesis has not been recovered. Selected numerical cells are provisional until the original scan can be checked; unreadable cells and damaged significance superscripts are not reconstructed.
Recorded source-check date: 2026-11-08. This date does not imply a completed systematic review.
Source type: Dissertation author’s abstract
Citation and original source
Original source: M. Yu. Smakhtin. Smakhtin’s 2004 GHK dissertation: animal doses, liver histology and immune results Влияние регуляторных пептидов на гепатоцеллюлярные и иммунную функции организма. Doctor of Biological Sciences author’s abstract, Moscow, 2004; work conducted at Kursk State Medical University. 2004.
Molekul research summary: https://molekul.io/research/ghk-smakhtin-dissertation-2004. Cite the original publication for its findings and this page when referring to Molekul’s summary or evidence appraisal.
Bibliography entry