Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 19, 2026

Link-N

Link-N (DHLSDNYTLDHDRAIH) is a naturally occurring 16-amino acid peptide which is the N-terminal fragment derived from enzymatic cleavage of cartilage link protein.

Last revised
Jun 19, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
447 w
Citations
10
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Link-N
Identifiers
  • (3S)-3-amino-4-[[(2S)-1-[[(2S)-1-[[(2S)-1-[[(2S)-1-[[(2S)-4-amino-1-[[(2S)-1-[[(2S,3R)-1-[[(2S)-1-[[(2S)-1-[[(2S)-1-[[(2S)-1-[[(2S)-5-carbamimidamido-1-[[(2S)-1-[[(2S,3S)-1-[[(1S)-1-carboxy-2-(1H-imidazol-5-yl)ethyl]amino]-3-methyl-1-oxopentan-2-yl]amino]-1-oxopropan-2-yl]amino]-1-oxopentan-2-yl]amino]-3-carboxy-1-oxopropan-2-yl]amino]-3-(1H-imidazol-5-yl)-1-oxopropan-2-yl]amino]-3-carboxy-1-oxopropan-2-yl]amino]-4-methyl-1-oxopentan-2-yl]amino]-3-hydroxy-1-oxobutan-2-yl]amino]-3-(4-hydroxyphenyl)-1-oxopropan-2-yl]amino]-1,4-dioxobutan-2-yl]amino]-3-carboxy-1-oxopropan-2-yl]amino]-3-hydroxy-1-oxopropan-2-yl]amino]-4-methyl-1-oxopentan-2-yl]amino]-3-(1H-imidazol-5-yl)-1-oxopropan-2-yl]amino]-4-oxobutanoic acid
CAS Number
PubChem CID
ChemSpider
Chemical and physical data
FormulaC81H120N26O29
Molar mass1922.004 g·mol−1
3D model (JSmol)
  • CC[C@H](C)[C@@H](C(=O)N[C@@H](CC1=CN=CN1)C(=O)O)NC(=O)[C@H](C)NC(=O)[C@H](CCCNC(=N)N)NC(=O)[C@H](CC(=O)O)NC(=O)[C@H](CC2=CN=CN2)NC(=O)[C@H](CC(=O)O)NC(=O)[C@H](CC(C)C)NC(=O)[C@H]([C@@H](C)O)NC(=O)[C@H](CC3=CC=C(C=C3)O)NC(=O)[C@H](CC(=O)N)NC(=O)[C@H](CC(=O)O)NC(=O)[C@H](CO)NC(=O)[C@H](CC(C)C)NC(=O)[C@H](CC4=CN=CN4)NC(=O)[C@H](CC(=O)O)N
  • InChI=1S/C81H120N26O29/c1-9-37(6)63(78(133)104-56(80(135)136)22-43-30-88-34-92-43)106-65(120)38(7)93-67(122)46(11-10-16-89-81(84)85)94-73(128)53(25-60(114)115)101-71(126)51(21-42-29-87-33-91-42)98-74(129)54(26-61(116)117)100-68(123)48(18-36(4)5)103-79(134)64(39(8)109)107-76(131)49(19-40-12-14-44(110)15-13-40)97-72(127)52(24-58(83)111)99-75(130)55(27-62(118)119)102-77(132)57(31-108)105-69(124)47(17-35(2)3)96-70(125)50(20-41-28-86-32-90-41)95-66(121)45(82)23-59(112)113/h12-15,28-30,32-39,45-57,63-64,108-110H,9-11,16-27,31,82H2,1-8H3,(H2,83,111)(H,86,90)(H,87,91)(H,88,92)(H,93,122)(H,94,128)(H,95,121)(H,96,125)(H,97,127)(H,98,129)(H,99,130)(H,100,123)(H,101,126)(H,102,132)(H,103,134)(H,104,133)(H,105,124)(H,106,120)(H,107,131)(H,112,113)(H,114,115)(H,116,117)(H,118,119)(H,135,136)(H4,84,85,89)/t37-,38-,39+,45-,46-,47-,48-,49-,50-,51-,52-,53-,54-,55-,56-,57-,63-,64-/m0/s1
  • Key:GHPHCEQEWSDUET-MMXWBEGUSA-N

Link-N (DHLSDNYTLDHDRAIH) is a naturally occurring 16-amino acid peptide which is the N-terminal fragment derived from enzymatic cleavage of cartilage link protein.

It has antiinflammatory effects and stimulates cartilage regrowth in both in vitro cultures of human cartilage tissue1234 and animal models of arthritis,5678910 but is not known to have been tested in humans.

See also

See also

References

References

  1. McKenna LA, Liu H, Sansom PA, Dean MF (January 1998). "An N-terminal peptide from link protein stimulates proteoglycan biosynthesis in human articular cartilage in vitro". Arthritis and Rheumatism. 41 (1): 157–162. doi:10.1002/1529-0131(199801)41:1<157::AID-ART19>3.0.CO;2-J. PMID 9433881.
  2. Liu H, McKenna LA, Dean MF (June 2000). "An N-terminal peptide from link protein can stimulate biosynthesis of collagen by human articular cartilage". Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 378 (1): 116–122. doi:10.1006/abbi.2000.1758. PMID 10871051.
  3. Petit A, Yao G, Rowas SA, Gawri R, Epure L, Antoniou J, et al. (April 2011). "Effect of synthetic link N peptide on the expression of type I and type II collagens in human intervertebral disc cells". Tissue Engineering. Part A. 17 (7–8): 899–904. doi:10.1089/ten.TEA.2010.0494. PMID 21067464.
  4. He R, Wang B, Cui M, Xiong Z, Lin H, Zhao L, et al. (2018). "Link Protein N-Terminal Peptide as a Potential Stimulating Factor for Stem Cell-Based Cartilage Regeneration". Stem Cells International. 2018 3217895. doi:10.1155/2018/3217895. PMC 5831317. PMID 29531532.
  5. Noorwali H, Grant MP, Epure LM, Madiraju P, Sampen HJ, Antoniou J, et al. (March 2018). "Link N as a therapeutic agent for discogenic pain". JOR Spine. 1 (1) e1008. doi:10.1002/jsp2.1008. PMC 6686832. PMID 31463438.
  6. Antoniou J, Epure LM, Grant MP, Richard H, Sampalis J, Roughley PJ, et al. (May 2019). "Short link N acts as a disease modifying osteoarthritis drug". European Cells & Materials. 37: 347–359. doi:10.22203/eCM.v037a21. PMID 31044415.
  7. Alaqeel M, Grant MP, Epure LM, Salem O, AlShaer A, Huk OL, et al. (January 2020). "Link N suppresses interleukin-1β-induced biological effects on human osteoarthritic cartilage". European Cells & Materials. 39: 65–76. doi:10.22203/eCM.v039a04. PMID 31939630.
  8. Liao HJ, Chen HT, Chang CH (September 2024). "Peptides for Targeting Chondrogenic Induction and Cartilage Regeneration in Osteoarthritis". Cartilage 19476035241276406. doi:10.1177/19476035241276406. PMC 11556548. PMID 39291443.
  9. Shih SY, Grant MP, Epure LM, Alad M, Lerouge S, Huk OL, et al. (November 2024). "Advances in the Regulation of Periostin for Osteoarthritic Cartilage Repair Applications". Biomolecules. 14 (11): 1469. doi:10.3390/biom14111469. PMC 11592007. PMID 39595645.
  10. Grant MP, Alad M, Yousef F, Epure LM, Antoniou J, Mwale F (April 2025). "Link N Directly Targets IL-1β to Suppress Inflammation and Regulate Sensory Pain in Intervertebral Disc Degeneration". Biomolecules. 15 (4): 603. doi:10.3390/biom15040603. PMC 12024905. PMID 40305345.