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Study · Not a test of the peptide alone · 2012

3 results

Prenatal treatment prevents learning deficit in Down syndrome model.

Incerti M, Horowitz K, Roberson R, Abebe D, Toso L, Caballero M, Spong CY

PloS one29 Nov 2012Cited by 21 (Europe PMC)

PMID23209818 (opens in a new tab)PMCIDPMC3510191 (opens in a new tab)DOI10.1371/journal.pone.0050724 (opens in a new tab)PepBankPUB-23209818
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Summary

UnlabelledDown syndrome is the most common genetic cause of mental retardation. Active fragments of neurotrophic factors release by astrocyte under the stimulation of vasoactive intestinal peptide, NAPVSIPQ (NAP) and SALLRSIPA (SAL) respectively, have shown therapeutic potential for developmental delay and learning deficits. Previous work demonstrated that NAP+SAL prevent developmental delay and glial deficit in Ts65Dn that is a well-characterized mouse model for Down syndrome. The objective of this study is to evaluate if prenatal treatment with these peptides prevents the learning deficit in the Ts65Dn mice. Pregnant Ts65Dn female and control pregnant females were randomly treated (intraperitoneal injection) on pregnancy days 8 through 12 with saline (placebo) or peptides (NAP 20 µg +SAL 20 µg) daily. Learning was assessed in the offspring (8-10 months) using the Morris Watermaze, which measures the latency to find the hidden platform (decrease in latency denotes learning). The investigators were blinded to the prenatal treatment and genotype. Pups were genotyped as trisomic (Down syndrome) or euploid (control) after completion of all tests.Statistical analysistwo-way ANOVA followed by Neuman-Keuls test for multiple comparisons, P<0.05 was used to denote statistical significance. Trisomic mice who prenatally received placebo (Down syndrome-placebo; n = 11) did not demonstrate learning over the five day period. DS mice that were prenatally exposed to peptides (Down syndrome-peptides; n = 10) learned significantly better than Down syndrome-placebo (p<0.01), and similar to control-placebo (n = 33) and control-peptide (n = 30). In conclusion prenatal treatment with the neuroprotective peptides (NAP+SAL) prevented learning deficits in a Down syndrome model. These findings highlight a possibility for the prevention of sequelae in Down syndrome and suggest a potential pregnancy intervention that may improve outcome.
CC0Text from Europe PMC. Highlighted sentences are the source of results.

Results from this study3

No result from this study comes from a test of the peptide.

Studies that did not test the peptide alone3

In this study, Davunetide was a lab tool or a carrier, part of a mix, or the subject of a lab method. These results are not evidence about taking Davunetide.

  1. 01AnimalNot a test of Davunetide aloneAnimal study (in vivo)Efficacy outcome

    In Ts65Dn mice, prenatal NAP plus SAL improved learning compared with Down syndrome-placebo (p<0.01).

    In plain wordsIn mice with a Down syndrome model, prenatal NAP plus SAL improved learning compared with placebo.

    Peptide
    Davunetide
    Outcome
    IncreaseLearning
    Study

    mousen: not reported in source

    Ts65Dn Down syndrome model
    Comparator
    Down syndrome-placebo
    Outcome group
    Cognition and memory · Nervous system and cognition

    Source sentences

    Summary
    DS mice that were prenatally exposed to peptides (Down syndrome-peptides; n = 10) learned significantly better than Down syndrome-placebo (p<0.01), and similar to control-placebo (n = 33) and control-peptide (n = 30).
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    Pregnant Ts65Dn female and control pregnant females were randomly treated (intraperitoneal injection) on pregnancy days 8 through 12 with saline (placebo) or peptides (NAP 20 µg +SAL 20 µg) daily.
    Summary · context
    Learning was assessed in the offspring (8-10 months) using the Morris Watermaze, which measures the latency to find the hidden platform (decrease in latency denotes learning).

    In this study, Davunetide was a lab tool or a carrier, part of a mix, or the subject of a lab method. This result is not evidence about taking Davunetide.

  2. 02AnimalNot a test of Davunetide aloneAnimal study (in vivo)Efficacy outcome

    In Ts65Dn mice, learning after prenatal NAP plus SAL was similar to control-placebo.

    In plain wordsIn mice with a Down syndrome model, learning after prenatal NAP plus SAL was similar to control mice given placebo.

    Peptide
    Davunetide
    Outcome
    Direction not reportedLearning
    Study

    mousen: not reported in source

    Ts65Dn Down syndrome model
    Comparator
    Control-placebo
    Outcome group
    Cognition and memory · Nervous system and cognition

    Source sentences

    Summary
    DS mice that were prenatally exposed to peptides (Down syndrome-peptides; n = 10) learned significantly better than Down syndrome-placebo (p<0.01), and similar to control-placebo (n = 33) and control-peptide (n = 30).
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    Pregnant Ts65Dn female and control pregnant females were randomly treated (intraperitoneal injection) on pregnancy days 8 through 12 with saline (placebo) or peptides (NAP 20 µg +SAL 20 µg) daily.
    Summary · context
    Learning was assessed in the offspring (8-10 months) using the Morris Watermaze, which measures the latency to find the hidden platform (decrease in latency denotes learning).

    In this study, Davunetide was a lab tool or a carrier, part of a mix, or the subject of a lab method. This result is not evidence about taking Davunetide.

  3. 03AnimalNot a test of Davunetide aloneAnimal study (in vivo)Efficacy outcome

    In Ts65Dn mice, learning after prenatal NAP plus SAL was similar to control-peptide.

    In plain wordsIn mice with a Down syndrome model, learning after prenatal NAP plus SAL was similar to control mice given the peptides.

    Peptide
    Davunetide
    Outcome
    Direction not reportedLearning
    Study

    mousen: not reported in source

    Ts65Dn Down syndrome model
    Comparator
    Control-peptide
    Outcome group
    Cognition and memory · Nervous system and cognition

    Source sentences

    Summary
    DS mice that were prenatally exposed to peptides (Down syndrome-peptides; n = 10) learned significantly better than Down syndrome-placebo (p<0.01), and similar to control-placebo (n = 33) and control-peptide (n = 30).
    2 context sentences
    Summary · context
    Pregnant Ts65Dn female and control pregnant females were randomly treated (intraperitoneal injection) on pregnancy days 8 through 12 with saline (placebo) or peptides (NAP 20 µg +SAL 20 µg) daily.
    Summary · context
    Learning was assessed in the offspring (8-10 months) using the Morris Watermaze, which measures the latency to find the hidden platform (decrease in latency denotes learning).

    In this study, Davunetide was a lab tool or a carrier, part of a mix, or the subject of a lab method. This result is not evidence about taking Davunetide.

AI wrote and checked these results. AI can make mistakes, so check important results against the source.

Version history

PepBank keeps every version of the data on this study. Status changes from Retraction Watch, Europe PMC and Crossref are listed with their source.

  1. Version 2Current

    27 Oct 2026, 18:20 UTC

    Study results updated

  2. Version 1

    27 Oct 2026, 16:32 UTC

    First added · source update from Europe PMC

Subjects

Terms as the source lists them.

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