COMPOUND

Compounds / Bioregulators

Vilon

Vilon (Lys-Glu / KE Dipeptide)

Bioregulators SubQ · Oral Approved outside the US

Khavinson family bioregulator developed at the Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. Synthetic dipeptide isolated as the active fraction of Thymalin (calf thymus extract); the shortest Khavinson peptide with documented biological activity. Marketed as an immune restorer and geroprotector. Most efficacy data is from one Russian lab; independent Western replication is essentially absent.

At a glance

Routes
SubQ · Oral
Vial sizes
20 mg
Evidence base
4 studies 1 human · 3 preclinical

Mechanism

Per the Khavinson 'short-peptide bioregulator' hypothesis, KE is proposed to enter the cell nucleus and bind condensed chromatin, driving heterochromatin → euchromatin conversion in aged lymphocytes: increasing IL-2 mRNA expression, reactivating nucleolar organizer regions, and increasing CD5 thymic-cell expression. Mechanism is contested in mainstream pharmacology because dipeptides are normally degraded in serum within minutes; Khavinson's group argues local cellular uptake precedes degradation. In aged CBA mice, chronic Vilon administration extends mean lifespan and reduces spontaneous tumor incidence.

Dosing

Any amounts shown here are reported from published studies only. 1 of 4 catalogued studies involved human subjects. COMPOUND does not publish its own dosing guidance.

Published evidence

  1. Human observational 2003

    Peptides of pineal gland and thymus prolong human life

    Khavinson VK, Morozov VG Neuro Endocrinol Lett

    Long-term observational study in elderly patients reported 2.0-2.1x mortality reduction in Thymalin (parent of Vilon) treated group; combined with Epithalamin reduced mortality 4.1x vs control. Major effect size with no Western replication: single-lab observational data.

    PMID 14523363

  2. Animal in vivo 2001

    Effect of synthetic thymic and pineal peptides on biomarkers of ageing, survival and spontaneous tumour incidence in female CBA mice

    Anisimov VN, Khavinson VK, Mikhalski AI, Yashin AI Mech Ageing Dev

    Pineal peptide treatment increased mean survival 5.3% (P<0.05); thymic peptide (Vilon class) reduced lung adenomas in female CBA mice.

    PMID 11163623

  3. Animal in vivo 2000

    A synthetic dipeptide vilon (L-Lys-L-Glu) inhibits growth of spontaneous tumors and increases life span of mice

    Khavinson VK, Anisimov VN Dokl Biol Sci

    Chronic Vilon administration in CBA mice reduced spontaneous tumor incidence and extended lifespan vs control. Foundational geroprotective study from Khavinson's lab.

    PMID 10944717

  4. In vitro 2013

    Immunomodulating Effects of Vilon and Its Analogue in the Culture of Human and Animal Thymus Cells

    Khavinson VK, Lin'kova NS, Polyakova VO, et al. Bull Exp Biol Med

    Vilon increased CD5 expression and proliferative activity in cultured human and animal thymic cells, supporting the immune-restoration hypothesis in aged thymus.

    PMID 23486604

Reported side effects

Injection site reaction
Rare Mild · Minor local reactions reported anecdotally with SubQ; no peer-reviewed AE profile.
Long-term safety unverified outside Russia
Unknown Mild · Khavinson group reports a clean AE profile across decades of clinical observation, but this has not been independently replicated in Western trials.

Interactions

  • Epithalon Synergy

    Khavinson 'pineal-thymus pair' protocol: pineal peptide (Epithalon) + thymic peptide (Vilon) targets immune + circadian axes.

  • Thymalin / Thymogen Redundant

    Vilon is the active dipeptide identified within Thymalin's polypeptide complex.

Reconstitution and storage

20 mg lyophilized vial; reconstitute with 2-5 mL bacteriostatic water. At 4 mg/mL, 100 mcg dose = 0.025 mL (2.5 units on a U-100 syringe). Very small volumes: easy to overdose.

Lyophilized: room temp short-term, refrigerate for >30 days. Reconstituted: refrigerate, use within 30 days.

Open the reconstitution calculator for Vilon