In the peptide craze, you will hear about TB-500. It is often paired with BPC-157 (body protective compound) as a Wolverine Stack, used to heal from injury, particularly of the muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints. (Fun fact: Wolverine Stack was named after the Marvel character who had rapid repair abilities.)
WHAT IS TB-500?
TB-500 is a synthetic peptide. It comes from a longer parent peptide, thymosin beta-4. It is derived from the active site of thymosin beta-4, though some think TB-500s wound healing activity may be due to a metaboite Ac-LKKTETQ rather than the parent compound. This metabolite concentrations spikes within 6 hours of use, though is detectable up to 72 hours.
WHAT DO STUDIES SHOW?
There are few TB-500 studies. Thymosin beta-4 has been studied more, looking at eye injuries, skin wounds, heart attacks, and stroke. These studies indicate:
- Multifunctional regnerative properties by promoting cell migration, angiogenesis, stem cell differentiation, reduction of inflammation, and less fibrosis.
- Clinical applications have been seen for wound healing, corneal repair, heart tissue regeneration following heart attck, and neurological issues.
- Animal studies have seen potential effects for kidney disease, liver disease, spinal cord injury,bone damage, ligament damage.
But again, these were mostly studies in the parent compound and many were animal studies.
CURRENT PUBLISHED STUDIES
When you look at the science cited here, it is for the parent compound, and most studies are a decade old. When looking at current studies, I could only find one: “Simultaneous quantification of TB-500 and its metabolites in in-vitro experiments and rats by UHPLC-Q-Exactive orbitrap MS/MS and their screening by wound healing activities in-vitro”, published in Journal of Chromatography. B, Analytical Technologies in the Biomedical and Life Sciences in 2024.
One published recent study.
Though if you go onto athletes, biohacking sites, reddits, Tik Tok, or AI, you will find it is widely being used. It is being investigated actively to accelerate chronic wound closures, heart repair after heart attack, traumatic brain injury and strokes, dry eyes and corneal damage, tendon and ligament repair, skin regeneration and hair follicle stimulation. But none of these are published studies. It is not FDA approved. There are some Phase II/III trials in progress.
HOW IS IT BEING USED IN THE WILD?
We see this being used for sport recovery, body building, and antiaging. It is banned by WADA (the World Anti-Doping Agency) for competitive sports. It is increasingly being discussed for looks maxxing, particularly those who are “hard maxxing.” We do not see support for using this peptide for looks or to use it long term.
SAFETY OF TB-500
PEPTIDE SOURCE IS IMPORTANT.
WHAT DO WE THINK AT BIOHACKR HEALTH?
This is a zone where these products are promising but not proven. You should discuss this with your Biohackr care team. There are different peptides, some of which are FDA approved. Things to think about before starting any peptide treatments:
- WHAT IS YOUR GOAL? Did you just have an injury? A recent surgery?
- TIMELINE. None of these medications should be taken long term. They should be done in spurts for a specific cause.
- DO YOU HAVE A HISTORY OR HIGH RISK FOR CANCER? Again, any peptide that is angiogenic (which many of the wound healing peptides are) run the risk of increasing blood supply and growth of tumors.
- DO YOU HAVE OTHER MEDICAL ISSUES?
What your treatment options are varies with the above. We will not publish recommendations here. If you are interested in discussing peptides, GLPs, NAD, creatine and other options, please call to make an appointment.