Mechanisms of biological activity of short peptides

The article discusses a problem related to the mechanisms of biological activity of short peptides that are realized in the human body. Rationale. By the early 90s of the last century, more than one thousand peptides with a certain number of amino acid residues and an established sequence of their location had been isolated. It has been established that these compounds are a complex of short pep tides with pronounced basic properties. It has further become known that polypeptides containing up to 20 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of up to 3.5 kDa and having an alkaline character are signaling molecules, as they participate in the regulation of homeostasis at the cellular level of living organization, easily penetrating the cell membrane. Purpose of the work: to summarize and present material demonstrating the mechanisms of biological activity of short peptides in the human body. Methods and materials: a literature search of Russian and foreign authors was performed; the obtained data were analyzed and summarized. Results. General information that characterizes the mechanisms of biological activity of short peptides in the human body is given. The basic molecular interactions of short pep tides and the organism are described. Conclusion. The idea of using regulatory peptides in an aging organism, creating effective bioregulators, will help achieve the species limit of life expectancy, as well as restore and preserve basic physiological functions. Currently, this is a pressing problem in biogerontology.