C-reactive protein: a pentraxin with anti-acetylcholine activity.

Purified C-reactive protein (CRP) diminished effects of acetylcholine (ACh) on the vascular tone and the heart rate of rats in vivo. In vitro CRP inhibited breakdown of ACh by acetylcholinesterase (AChE) while did not interact with AChE itself. CRP appears to bind ACh.

Peptide promotes overcoming of the division limit in human somatic cell.

We previously showed that treatment of normal human diploid cells with Epithalon (Ala-Glu-Asp-Gly) induced expression of telomerase catalytic subunit, its enzymatic activity, and elongation of telomeres. Here we studied the effect of this peptide on proliferative potential of human fetal fibroblasts. Primary pulmonary fibroblasts derived from a 24-week fetus lost the proliferative potential at the 34th passage.

Epithalon peptide induces telomerase activity and telomere elongation in human somatic cells.

Addition of Epithalon peptide in telomerase-negative human fetal fibroblast culture induced expression of the catalytical subunit, enzymatic activity of telomerase, and telomere elongation, which can be due to reactivation of telomerase gene in somatic cells and indicates the possibility of prolonging life span of a cell population and of the whole organism.