PeptideComparePEG-MGF — EU research guide.
PEG-MGF (Pegylated Mechano Growth Factor) is a PEGylated form of MGF, a splice variant of IGF-1 produced in mechanically stressed muscle. PEGylation extends its half-life from minutes to hours, enabling systemic circulation.
What is PEG-MGF?
MGF is produced locally in muscle fibres in response to mechanical load via alternative splicing of IGF-1 pre-mRNA. The native MGF peptide has a half-life of only a few minutes. PEGylation — attachment of polyethylene glycol chains — masks the peptide from proteolytic enzymes and immune recognition, extending the half-life to ~hours and allowing systemic distribution after injection.
What does the research show?
Animal studies show PEG-MGF activates muscle satellite cells, promotes myoblast proliferation and accelerates muscle repair after injury. The local/systemic distinction from IGF-1 LR3 makes it a complementary tool in muscle biology research. No human clinical trials. The anabolic potential has attracted significant doping research interest.
EU legal status
Not approved in the EU or anywhere. WADA-prohibited (S2). Available for laboratory muscle biology research only.
Molecular information
Pharmacokinetics
Potency retained over time
Each line is one storage condition: it starts at 100% and falls as potency is lost. Above the dashed 80% line the material is considered reliable — hover for exact values.
⚠ Computed from molecular properties (sequence length, cyclisation, residues prone to oxidation or deamidation, light sensitivity), per compound. Indicative only — not lab-measured per batch.
PEG-MGF across EU suppliers
COA-verified EU vendors · Updated monthly
References
- The foundational claim: a synthetic 24-amino-acid C-terminal E-peptide activates muscle satellite cells independently of the IGF-1 receptor. Almost everything marketed about MGF traces back to this single mechanism paper. Yang SY, Goldspink G. FEBS Lett. 2002;522(1–3):156–160. PubMed 12095637
- The note that vendor pages leave out: researchers at two pharmaceutical companies tried to reproduce the MGF E-peptide effect on human and mouse myoblasts and found no apparent effect on proliferation or differentiation. A key claimed mechanism did not replicate — the most decision-relevant fact about this peptide. Fornaro M, et al. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2014;306(2):E150–E156. PubMed 24253048
- A counterweight to that null result: in isolated human muscle cells the 24-aa E-peptide extended the proliferative lifespan of satellite cells from young donors but not from old ones. The literature is genuinely mixed, which is the honest summary — not the uniform picture usually presented. Kandalla PK, Goldspink G, Butler-Browne G, Mouly V. Mech Ageing Dev. 2011;132(4):154–162. PubMed 21377485