Carl read the papersWhat it actually is
Vilon is a synthetic dipeptide, Lys-Glu (KE), from the St Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology. It is the simplest member of the bioregulator family and is described in the Russian literature as a 'thymomimetic', a small stand-in for thymus extract.
Its developers name KE as one of the active dipeptides in Thymalin, the Russian calf-thymus drug. Vilon is that piece made synthetically, without the rest of the extract.
How it’s thought to work
- Thymus-specific growth — Stimulated growth of rat thymus tissue in culture, the family's tissue-specific signature.
- Chromatin opening — In lymphocytes from older people, cultured in a dish, it loosened tightly packed chromatin and reactivated ribosomal genes.
- Immune and clotting markers — Added to treatment in a Russian study of older people with type 1 diabetes, it was reported to shift immune cell counts and clotting markers and to lower insulin needs in most cases.
- Animal ageing — Mouse studies report more activity and endurance. Lifespan and tumour results are mixed (see below).
What the research says
Mostly mice and cell dishes, one research group. Two 2000 papers reported that Vilon prolonged lifespan and prevented spontaneous tumours in mice. A 2001 paper from the same group, in the same CBA strain, found more physical activity and fewer lung adenomas with Lys-Glu, but reported a survival gain only for the pineal peptide tested alongside it. In cancer-prone HER-2/neu mice, two or more tumours per animal were seen in 95% of the Vilon group against 75% of controls. Human data are a few Russian clinical reports, including one that added it to colorectal cancer treatment in older patients and called its own results preliminary. The animal doses were tiny: 0.1 to 1 microgram per mouse a day, for five days each month.
- Dipeptide Lys-Glu; proposed active component of the thymus drug Thymalin.
- Mouse lifespan: two 2000 papers say longer; a 2001 paper from the same group reported a survival gain only for a different peptide.
- HER-2/neu mice: multiple tumours in 95% of Vilon mice vs 75% of controls.
- Animal studies used 0.1 to 1 microgram per mouse a day; products online are sold in milligrams.
Reported protocols
These are the doses the peptide community actually reports running (Reddit & forums), alongside published research — logged for education, not as a recommendation to use.
| Parameter | Commonly reported range |
|---|---|
| Community dose | Not established. Online figures run from micrograms to milligrams, they come from sellers and aggregator sites, and none trace back to a human study or an independent report. |
| Animal studies | 0.1 to 1 microgram per mouse a day, five days a month, under the skin. No human equivalent has been worked out. |
| Route | Injected under the skin in the mouse work; sold as vials and capsules |
| Community tip | If the research used micrograms and the product is sold in milligrams, the product is not following the research. |
Common use cases
| Goal | Community protocol notes |
|---|---|
| Research only | immune support and anti-ageing are the marketed uses; the evidence is mostly mouse data |
| Bioregulator sets | sold as the 'thymus' member of the family alongside Epithalon |
Mixing it (reconstitution)
Freeze-dried peptides must be reconstituted with bacteriostatic water before they can be measured. Carl’s calculator turns “mg in the vial + ml of water + target dose” into “units on the syringe” — and tells you how long the vial lasts.
→ Open the Reconstitution Calculator
Injection & handling
There is no established human dose or route to describe. The mouse studies injected tiny amounts under the skin; the products sold online are vials and capsules dosed far higher, with nothing published to bridge the two. An unregulated vial adds contamination and labelling risk on top of that.
Stacks it appears in
- With Epithalon — Studied side by side in several mouse papers. In the HER-2/neu study Epithalon looked protective and Vilon did not.
- Vs Thymalin — Thymalin is the whole calf-thymus extract and a registered Russian drug; Vilon is one synthetic piece of it, with far less behind it.
Sources
- Khavinson VK et al. Effect of vilon on biological age and lifespan in mice. Bull Exp Biol Med 2000
- Khavinson VKh, Anisimov VN. A synthetic dipeptide vilon (L-Lys-L-Glu) inhibits growth of spontaneous tumors and increases life span of mice. Dokl Biol Sci 2000
- Anisimov VN et al. Effect of synthetic thymic and pineal peptides on biomarkers of ageing, survival and tumour incidence in female CBA mice. Mech Ageing Dev 2001
- Alimova IN et al. Epitalon and Vilon on mammary carcinogenesis in transgenic erbB-2/NEU mice. Vopr Onkol 2002 (Russian)
- Lezhava T et al. Bioregulator Vilon-induced reactivation of chromatin in cultured lymphocytes from old people. Biogerontology 2004
- Kuznik BI et al. Effect of vilon on immunity status and coagulation hemostasis in patients with diabetes mellitus. Adv Gerontol 2007 (Russian)
- Ias'kevich LS et al. Application of peptide bioregulator in complex treatment of elderly cancer patients. Adv Gerontol 2005 (Russian)
- Linkova N et al. KE and EW dipeptides in the composition of the Thymalin drug. Int J Mol Sci 2023
- Khavinson VK. Tissue-specific effects of peptides. Bull Exp Biol Med 2001
- PubChem: Vilon (CID 7010502)
- Vidal.ru (Russian drug reference) search: вилон (Vilon)
- ClinicalTrials.gov search: vilon
- SAHPRA: Peptide Products - Public Information (May 2026)
- WADA 2026 Prohibited List
