Scientific Reference
AOD-9604
Evidence profile: Predominantly preclinical
AOD-9604 grew out of a narrow question: does one short stretch of growth hormone account for the hormone's effects on fat, independent of everything else it does? The answer was sought with a synthetic peptide copying the C-terminal region of human growth hormone, residues 176 to 191, carrying an added N-terminal tyrosine and a disulfide bond. Early work used rodent adipocytes and whole-animal lipid metabolism; human clinical trials followed, though little of that is in the published record. Separate animal studies examined cartilage in joint injury models. It is not considered a growth hormone receptor agonist, and that distinction frames how any reported activity is read.
Mechanism of Action
Reports say AOD-9604 does not bind the growth hormone receptor with meaningful affinity and does not work via the IGF-1 axis, so whatever it does differs from the intact hormone. Experiments on isolated rodent fat cells and obese mice followed lipolysis and lipogenesis, and part of that work pointed to beta-3 adrenergic receptor pathways. No receptor that binds the fragment directly has been found. The cartilage experiments measured matrix markers in injured animal joints, with no mechanism established for the findings. Altogether the mechanistic literature is thin and comes from a handful of groups.
Molecular Information
- Type: Modified hGH fragment (176-191)
- Molecular weight: 1815.1 g/mol
- Molecular formula: C78H123N23O23S2