Whitmantides A-C
First D-leucine-containing linear peptides discovered in any leech — Zhang 2019 demonstrates neuroprotection in oxygen-glucose deprivation Neuro-2a model with high serum stability.
Mechanistic Evidence Box
Preclinical / mechanistic- Page type
- Compound profile
- Evidence type
- First D-leucine-containing linear peptides discovered in any leech — Zhang 2019 demonstrates neuroprotection in oxygen-glucose deprivation Neuro-2a model with high serum stability.
- Evidence level
- In vitro
- Drug vs leech
- Purified natural compound
Clinical translation limit
Whitmantides A-C's in vitro neuroprotection against oxygen-glucose deprivation does NOT establish clinical efficacy. No FDA-approved derivative exists; W. pigra is a non-hematophagous TCM leech, not the FDA-cleared K040187 medicinal leech.
Molecular Profile
- Category
- Other
- Evidence tier
- Preclinical
- Molecular weight
- 1,200 Da
- Source species
- Whitmania pigra
- Discovered
- 2019 · Zhang ZY et al.
Biological Targets
- → neuroprotective pathways (oxygen-glucose deprivation / reperfusion injury); D-leucine confers protease resistance
Key Citations
- Zhang ZY et al. (2019), J Nat Prod · PMID 31361480
External Resources
Related Other Compounds
Granulin (leech-derived)
Growth factor and wound-healing modulator — promotes angiogenesis and tissue regeneration.
Leech VEGF Modulator
Vascular endothelial growth factor pathway modulator — angiogenic and wound-healing implications.
Leech PDGF Modulator
Platelet-derived growth factor pathway modulator — implications for wound-healing.
Leech Granulin-A
Granulin-family peptide identified in Hirudo medicinalis — putative growth-factor / wound-healing analog (mechanistic only).