Copyright: © 2026 by the authors. Licensee: Pirogov University.
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (CC BY).

ORIGINAL RESEARCH

Optimal HAEE synthetic peptide therapeutic dose with repeated administration to APP/PS1 mice

Kozin SA1 , Lysikova EA2 , Yakovlev RYu3 , Mukhina KA1 , Soloveva AE2 , Shmigol TA2 , Makarov AA1 , Mitkevich VA1
About authors

1 Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

2 Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, Russia

3 Scientific Centre RTA LLC, Moscow, Russia

Correspondence should be addressed: Vladimir A. Mitkevich
Vavilova, 32, Moscow, 119991; ur.bmie@hcivektim

About paper

Funding: the study was supported by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, topic: Pharmaceutical Development and Preclinical Trials of the Peptide Drug for Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease, 125022602911-9.

Acknowledgements: the authors would like to express their gratitude to E.V. Myachin, Chairman of the VSE Cooperative (Moscow, Russia), for providing the HAEE lyophilized synthetic peptide.

Author contribution: Kozin SA — study design, literature review, manuscript writing; Lysikova EA — experimental research involving APP/PS1 mice, проведение transcardial perfusion, histochemical analysis; Yakovlev RYu — analysis of the input HAEE synthetic peptide samples; Mukhina KA, Soloveva АЕ, Shmigol TA — experimental research involving APP/PS1 mice, preparation of brain slices, fluorescence microscopy image acquisition and analysis; Makarov AA, Mitkevich VA — study design, manuscript writing.

Compliance with ethical standards: the study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology RAS (protocol No. 3 dated 11 September 2025) and conducted in accordance with guidelines for working with laboratory animals.

Received: 2025-12-09 Accepted: 2026-01-19 Published online: 2026-02-04
|

High efficacy of the synthetic Ac-His-Ala-Glu-Glu-NH2 (HAEE) peptide in suppression of the congophilic amyloid plaque formation was earlier shown in the animal model of Alzheimer's disease. The study conducted as part of the pre-clinical trial aimed to determine the optimal therapeutic dose of this peptide when used as an anti-amyloid agent for treatment of this disorder. The APP/PS1 transgenic mice randomized into four experimental groups and one control group (eight males and eight females per group) were used as model animals. Mice of experimental groups 1, 2, 3, and 4 twice a week throughout eight weeks received subcutaneous injections of drugs with the following HAEE dosage: 0.18 mg/kg, 0.30 mg/kg, 1.50 mg/kg, 3.00 mg/kg. Mice of the control group were administered saline. The Congo red stain was used to determine amyloid plaques in the hippocampus of all animals. Quantification of such plaques showed a significant (p < 0.001) decrease in the number of plaques in mice of experimental groups (the average plaque number per brain slice was 7.5 ± 2.1, 3.2 ± 0.9, 3.1 ± 0.6, and 3.3 ± 0.7 in mice of groups 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively) compared to control mice (15.7 ± 4.6). Since the number of plaques in groups 2, 3, and 4 did not change significantly, the minimal HAEE dose, with which the lowest number of amyloid plaques is observed in the studied mice, is 0.3 mg/kg. This is roughly equivalent to the dose of 1.75 mg in terms of one adult human. Thus, the optimal therapeutic HAEE dose for clinical trials has been experimentally substantiated.

Keywords: preclinical trials, amyloid plaques, congo red, disease-modifying therapy, HAEE peptide, Alzheimer's disease, amyloid-beta, APP/PS1 transgenic mice, histochemical staining, Congo red, therapeutic dose

КОММЕНТАРИИ (0)