Pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution of humanin and its analogues in male rodents.

Humanin (HN) is a novel 24-amino acid mitochondrial-derived peptide that has demonstrated diverse cytoprotective effects, including an emerging role in diabetes. The purpose of this study was to examine the pharmacokinetics of humanin analogues, which show great potential as therapeutic agents (HNG and the non-IGFBP-3 binding, HNGF6A). 11-week-old male IGFBP-3(-/-) and wild type (WT) mice were divided into 3 groups: WT mice treated with HNG, WT mice treated with HNGF6A, and IGFBP-3(-/-) mice treated with HNG.