This is a working overview of CJC-1295, written for readers who want more than a one-paragraph summary but less than a textbook.
Reviewed 2025-08-22. Anything still debated is marked as such rather than presented as settled.
The core sequence keeps the receptor-binding region of GHRH while replacing four positions that are vulnerable to dipeptidyl peptidase-4 and other proteases. Substitutions at positions 2, 8, 15, and 27 raise metabolic stability relative to the natural hormone. The N-terminal residues remain essential for activity, so changes there generally lower potency. Molecular weight sits near 3368 daltons for the tetrasubstituted analog without the linker, while the albumin-binding form is heavier because of the added maleimide group.
CJC-1295 is a synthetic peptide modeled on growth hormone-releasing hormone, the hypothalamic signal that prompts the pituitary to release growth hormone. Its sequence corresponds to the first twenty-nine residues of human GHRH, with four substitutions that slow enzymatic breakdown. Early descriptions placed the compound in research on growth hormone deficiency and related conditions, and later literature groups it with the long-acting GHRH analogs. The name appears in both laboratory and popular fitness writing, where it sometimes labels chemically different peptides.
Two related peptides circulate under the CJC-1295 label, and they differ mainly in how long they persist in circulation. The version carrying a drug affinity complex includes a maleimidopropionic acid linker that forms a covalent bond with serum albumin. The other version, usually written as modified GRF(1-29) or tetrasubstituted GRF(1-29), lacks that linker and is cleared quickly. Mixing the two produces inconsistent readings of published half-life values, because the linker rather than the receptor-facing sequence drives most of the difference.
The attached maleimide group explains the unusual duration of the DAC version. After injection it reacts with the thiol of cysteine-34 on serum albumin, forming a stable covalent bond. The resulting conjugate is too large for rapid kidney filtration and is shielded from many peptidases. Reported half-lives for this form reach several days, whereas the version without the group is cleared in roughly half an hour. That gap is the main pharmacological difference between the two.
Downstream of growth hormone, the liver and other tissues increase production of insulin-like growth factor 1, a mediator of many growth-promoting effects. Studies have documented elevated levels of both hormones after dosing, and the rise from the long-acting form persists longer than that produced by shorter-acting analogues. What remains unclear is whether sustained elevation of these markers translates into meaningful clinical benefit, and whether prolonged exposure carries risks that short trials could not detect.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Class | Synthetic peptide | GHRH receptor agonist |
| Sequence length | 29 amino acids | Derived from human GHRH |
| Molecular weight | About 3368 Da without linker | Albumin-binding form is heavier |
| Appearance | White to off-white lyophilized powder | Common form for research reference material |
| Typical storage | -20 °C or below, desiccated | Protect powder from light and moisture |
CJC-1295 is a synthetic peptide analog of growth hormone-releasing hormone, constructed on the 29-amino-acid fragment designated GRF(1-29). The name began as an internal development code during the 1990s and later spread through research supply catalogs and discussion forums. The molecule does not occur in nature; its sequence is engineered rather than isolated from tissue. Two related compounds are sold under this single label, and they differ by one appended chemical group that strongly influences how long the peptide remains in circulation.
The dividing feature between the two forms is a maleimide-based drug affinity complex, abbreviated DAC. In the DAC-bearing version, a linker attaches the peptide to serum albumin after administration, and that association slows removal from plasma. The version lacking DAC appears in catalogs as MOD GRF(1-29) or tetrasubstituted GRF(1-29). Because informal writing treats both as one item, comparisons drawn from such sources routinely blend measurements taken from two molecules with substantially different behavior.
Two principal forms appear in the literature and in research supply. One carries a drug affinity complex, a maleimide-based group that forms a covalent bond with circulating albumin. This linkage slows clearance and produces a long-lasting elevation of peptide levels. The other form lacks that group and is often labeled MOD GRF(1-29). It has a much shorter circulation time. Both variants retain the same core receptor-binding sequence. Reported half-lives differ substantially between the two.
At the pituitary, the peptide binds the growth hormone-releasing hormone receptor on somatotroph cells. Receptor activation raises intracellular cyclic AMP and triggers release of stored growth hormone. Somatostatin and other hypothalamic signals modulate this response. Negative feedback from insulin-like growth factor 1 also influences output. The same regulatory architecture operates with the native hormone. Whether the synthetic analog alters feedback dynamics over repeated exposure remains an open question. Most published receptor work uses cell models rather than intact human systems.
CJC-1295 is a synthetic peptide belonging to the growth hormone-releasing hormone analog family. It comprises twenty-nine amino acid residues derived from the N-terminal region of natural GHRH. The molecule incorporates several non-natural substitutions that increase resistance to enzymatic degradation. These modifications extend its activity compared with the native hormone fragment. Researchers use it to study pituitary growth hormone secretion in laboratory and clinical settings. This compound is distinct from native GHRH in its stability profile.
=== Laboratory synthesis === The chemical synthesis of DMT has been described. It can be synthesized through several possible pathways from different starting materials. The two most commonly encountered synthetic routes are through the reaction of indole with oxalyl chloride followed by reaction with dimethylamine and reduction of the carbonyl functionalities with lithium aluminium hydride to form DMT. The second commonly encountered route is through the N,N-dimethylation of tryptamine using formaldehyde followed by reduction with sodium cyanoborohydride or sodium triacetoxyborohydride. Sodium borohydride can be used but requires a larger excess of reagents and lower temperatures due to it having a higher selectivity for carbonyl groups as opposed to imines. Procedures using sodium cyanoborohydride and sodium triacetoxyborohydride (presumably created in situ from cyanoborohydride though this may not be the case due to the presence of water or methanol) also result in the creation of cyanated tryptamine and beta-carboline byproducts of unknown toxicity while using sodium borohydride in absence of acid does not. Bufotenine, a plant extract, can also be synthesized into DMT. Alternatively, an excess of methyl iodide or methyl p-toluenesulfonate and sodium carbonate can be used to over-methylate tryptamine, resulting in the creation of a quaternary ammonium salt, which is then dequaternized (demethylated) in ethanolamine to yield DMT. The same two-step procedure is used to synthesize other N,N-dimethylated compounds, such as 5-MeO-DMT.
17 September Jaws in the Med about swimming in the Mediterranean Sea; on Friday 20 July 1956 Royal Navy English teacher at Valletta Naval Technical School, forty-year-old Jack Smedley, went for a swim in St Thomas' Bay in Malta, when he was attacked by a great white shark, and never seen again; on 17 April 1987 a similar shark was landed by a fishing boat at Żurrieq in Malta, later researched by BBC weather presenter Ian Fergusson; board sailor José Luis Pérez-Díaz was attacked by a shark on 18 March 1986 at Tarifa in Andalusia, losing his foot; on Thursday 2 February 1989 scuba diver 47-year-old Luciano Constanzo was attacked by a 6-metre shark at Baratti in Tuscany, being the first shark attack in Italy for 27 years; sharks had been seen around Favignana, and its Mattanza; Franco Cigala-Fulgosi of the University of Parva; Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara of the Tethys Research Institute, and how pollution from the Po (river) has damaged life in the Adriatic Sea. Narrated by Bob Peck, produced by Frances Berrigan, directed by Jeremy Taylor, made by Cicada Films with Discovery Communications 24 September Under Fire, about current firefighting technology; it was made coincide with National Fire Safety Week; the dangers such as flashover, when combustible gases ignite at the same time, sometimes explosively; it featured York fire station officer John Taylor, and Harrogate fireman Stephen Fairweather, who looked at fires in this country and Sweden; Sweden began training for flashovers in 1984, and no-one has been killed since through that.
(February 2, 2016), "Forensic Chemistry and Ambient Mass Spectrometry: A Perfect Couple Destined for a Happy Marriage?", Analytical Chemistry, 88 (5), American Chemical Society (ACS): 2515–2526, doi:10.1021/acs.analchem.5b02397, ISSN 0003-2700, PMID 26768158 Wu, Chunping; Dill, Allison L.; Eberlin, Livia S.; Cooks, R. Graham; Ifa, Demian R. (September 20, 2012), "Mass spectrometry imaging under ambient conditions", Mass Spectrometry Reviews, 32 (3), Wiley: 218–243, doi:10.1002/mas.21360, ISSN 0277-7037, PMC 3530640, PMID 22996621 Eberlin, Livia S.; Norton, Isaiah; Orringer, Daniel; Dunn, Ian F.; Liu, Xiaohui; Ide, Jennifer L.; Jarmusch, Alan K.; Ligon, Keith L.; Jolesz, Ferenc A.; Golby, Alexandra J.; Santagata, Sandro; Agar, Nathalie Y. R.; Cooks, R. Graham (January 8, 2013), "Ambient mass spectrometry for the intraoperative molecular diagnosis of human brain tumors", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110 (5): 1611–1616, Bibcode:2013PNAS..110.1611E, doi:10.1073/pnas.1215687110, ISSN 0027-8424, PMC 3562800, PMID 23300285 Eberlin, Livia S.; Norton, Isaiah; Dill, Allison L.; Golby, Alexandra J.; Ligon, Keith L.; Santagata, Sandro; Cooks, R. Graham; Agar, Nathalie Y.R. (January 31, 2012), "Classifying Human Brain Tumors by Lipid Imaging with Mass Spectrometry", Cancer Research, 72 (3), American Association for Cancer Research (AACR): 645–654, doi:10.1158/0008-5472.can-11-2465, ISSN 0008-5472, PMC 3271168, PMID 22139378
== Usage during original Cold War == The phrase "new Cold War" was first used in 1955 by US secretary of state John Foster Dulles, and in a 1956 New York Times article warning of Soviet propaganda promoting the Cold War's resurgence. Other analysts, such as academics Fred Halliday, Alan M. Wald, David S. Painter, and Noam Chomsky, used the interchangeable terms to refer to the 1979–1985 or 1985–1991 phases of the Cold War. Some other analysts used similar terms to refer to the Cold War of the mid-1970s. Columnist William Safire argued in a 1975 New York Times editorial that the Nixon administration's policy of détente with the Soviet Union had failed and that "Cold War II" was then underway. Academic Gordon H. Chang used the term "Cold War II" to refer to the Cold War period after the 1972 meeting in China between US president Richard Nixon and Chinese Communist Party chairman Mao Zedong.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
== Publications == Katz's research was published in academic journals including Science, The Lancet, JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association, The New England Journal of Medicine, Human Pathology, Cancer, Annals of Clinical & Laboratory Science, American Journal of Clinical Pathology, Radiology, Ultrastructural Pathology, Gastroenterology, and Diagnostic Cytopathology.
Ion mobility spectrometry–mass spectrometry (IMS-MS) is an analytical chemistry method that separates gas phase ions based on their interaction with a collision gas and their masses. In the first step, the ions are separated according to their mobility through a buffer gas on a millisecond timescale using an ion mobility spectrometer. The separated ions are then introduced into a mass analyzer in a second step where their mass-to-charge ratios can be determined on a microsecond timescale. The effective separation of analytes achieved with this method makes it widely applicable in the analysis of complex samples such as in proteomics and metabolomics.
=== Commercialization === Elbasvir/grazoprevir was FDA approved in the United States, and has been approved for use in the European Union, Canada, Japan, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Israel, and Switzerland. Zepatier is one of a few non-interferon therapies that are market-available. Competing treatments include Gilead's Harvoni (sofosbuvir and ledipasvir) and AbbVie's Viekira Pak (ombitasvir, paritaprevir, and ritonavir). Sale projections for Zepatier are $636 million in 2016 and rising to $1.5 billion by 2020. With Merck's release of Zepatier early in 2016, they saw large bumps in share prices in quarters 1 and 2, but are expected to drop down a bit. Zepatier does not have as strong a market hold as other competitive HCV treatments.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Natural GHRH is degraded quickly by dipeptidyl peptidase-4 and related enzymes, giving it a half-life measured in minutes. CJC-1295 carries substitutions that slow that breakdown, so it stays intact longer. Both act at the same pituitary receptor and produce the same class of signal.
The label was first attached to the albumin-binding form during early development work. A shorter analog without the linker later became known by the same name in informal use. Published papers normally state which version was studied, so the methods section resolves the ambiguity.
It is a synthetic peptide rather than a steroid, and it does not occur naturally in the body. Its sequence is derived from a hypothalamic hormone called growth hormone-releasing hormone. It works as a receptor agonist rather than as a replacement for that hormone.
It binds the growth hormone-releasing hormone receptor on pituitary somatotroph cells. Receptor activation raises cyclic AMP and promotes release of stored growth hormone granules. Because the peptide persists longer than natural releasing hormone, stimulation is prolonged rather than brief.