Miscellaneous & Research; Cognitive & Neuroprotection

Neurotensin

Neurotensin was pulled out of cow hypothalamus in 1973 for one reason: it lowered blood pressure. Half a century on, the list of things it does has grown into a set that rarely travels together — appetite, pain, body temperature, blood-vessel tone — and it is made in the brain and the gut alike. The blood-pressure effect remains the most concretely measured: placed into the spinal space of anaesthetised rats it dropped mean arterial pressure by about 25 mmHg, with slowing of the heart and reduced sympathetic nerve traffic. In people it has been infused to watch rather than to treat — the registered human study gives it to healthy volunteers and measures appetite, food intake, hormones and cardiovascular response.

Last updated 12 August 2026

Studied forAppetite regulation research · Analgesia research · Blood pressure context

Evidence on file1 animal study · 1 citation not yet graded

Strongest sourceThe Isolation of a New Hypotensive Peptide, Neurotensin, from Bovine Hypothalami (Journal of Biological Chemi… (animal study)

Mechanism

Signals through the NTS1 and NTS2 G-protein-coupled receptors, with site-specific effects on feeding, temperature, and vascular tone.

Reported effects

What sources associate with this compound. Reported categories, not outcomes we have graded — each would need its own citation and rung.

Appetite regulation research
Analgesia research
Blood pressure context

Dosing on file unverified

2.5, 5.0, 7.5 pmol/kg/min sequential IV infusion (each 1h); 2.3 pmol/kg/min for 30 min; 2.5-7.5 pmol/kg/min IV infusion (1h each dose, sequential)

Carried from a source that labels it unverified, and reproduced with that label attached. A record of what is reported, not a recommendation. No citation on this page establishes it.

Literature on file 3

animal in vivo
The Isolation of a New Hypotensive Peptide, Neurotensin, from Bovine Hypothalami (Journal of Biological Chemistry 1973, cited 1324x) graded on: an animal model — “Bovine”
review or editorial
Neurotensin and neurotensin receptors (Trends in Pharmacological Sciences 1999, cited 493x) graded on: indexed as "Review" - secondary literature, not a study — “Review”

Not graded

1 citation whose study design could not be read from the title. Left ungraded rather than guessed at.

not graded
NCT04179331: Neurotensin Infusions in Healthy Individuals - Effects on Appetite, Food Intake, Hormone Secretions and Cardiovascular Responses graded on: NCT04179331 is completed and has posted no results - a registration, not a reported outcome — “NCT04179331”

Identity

Space-filling 3D model of Neurotensin, carbon grey, nitrogen blue, oxygen red — Built from the SMILES on this record — the atoms and bonds are exact. The shape is **one computed low-energy pose**, not a measured structure: a flexible peptide in solution has no single conformation, and where the SMILES leaves a stereocentre undefined the pose commits to one arbitrarily. The skeletal formula below claims connectivity and nothing more, which is what we actually know.

2D chemical structure of Neurotensin — Built from the SMILES on this record — the atoms and bonds are exact. The shape is **one computed low-energy pose**, not a measured structure: a flexible peptide in solution has no single conformation, and where the SMILES leaves a stereocentre undefined the pose commits to one arbitrarily. The skeletal formula below claims connectivity and nothing more, which is what we actually know.

Molecular weight: 1672.9
Molecular formula: C78H121N21O20
CAS number: 39379-15-2
PubChem CID: 25077406
UniProt: P30990 (precursor)
InChI key: PCJGZPGTCUMMOT-ISULXFBGSA-N
SMILES: CC[C@H](C)[C@@H](C(=O)N[C@@H](CC(C)C)C(=O)O)NC(=O)[C@H](CC1=CC=C(C=C1)O)NC(=O)[C@@H]2CCCN2C(=O)[C@H](CCCN=C(N)N)NC(=O)[C@H](CCCN=C(N)N)NC(=O)[C@@H]3CCCN3C(=O)[C@H](CCCCN)NC(=O)[C@H](CC(=O)N)NC(=O)[C@H](CCC(=O)O)NC(=O)[C@H](CC4=CC=C(C=C4)O)NC(=O)[C@H](CC(C)C)NC(=O)[C@@H]5CCC(=O)N5
InChI: InChI=1S/C78H121N21O20/c1-7-43(6)63(73(115)96-57(76(118)119)37-42(4)5)97-70(112)55(39-45-21-25-47(101)26-22-45)95-72(114)59-18-13-35-99(59)75(117)52(16-11-33-86-78(83)84)90-64(106)48(15-10-32-85-77(81)82)89-71(113)58-17-12-34-98(58)74(116)51(14-8-9-31-79)91-69(111)56(40-60(80)102)94-66(108)50(28-30-62(104)105)88-68(110)54(38-44-19-23-46(100)24-20-44)93-67(109)53(36-41(2)3)92-65(107)49-27-29-61(103)87-49/h19-26,41-43,48-59,63,100-101H,7-18,27-40,79H2,1-6H3,(H2,80,102)(H,87,103)(H,88,110)(H,89,113)(H,90,106)(H,91,111)(H,92,107)(H,93,109)(H,94,108)(H,95,114)(H,96,115)(H,97,112)(H,104,105)(H,118,119)(H4,81,82,85)(H4,83,84,86)/t43-,48-,49-,50-,51-,52-,53-,54-,55-,56-,57-,58-,59-,63-/m0/s1

Caveat on these identifiers

Source files disagreed on evidence tier for this peptide.

Notes unverified prose

NCT04179331; 2.3 pmol/kg/min in healthy subjects; NCT04179331: 2.5, 5.0, 7.5 pmol/kg/min sequential IV infusions; NCT04179331 (2.5, 5.0, 7.5 pmol/kg/min IV); NCT04179331 (human IV infusions)

Not on file 2

1 of the 8 fields we track hold nothing on this record, and each says why. 1 further absence is named below. A blank field is a bug; a named absence is a finding.

amino-acid sequencenothing we hold supplies it
half-lifenothing we hold supplies it

Each field links to every other record missing the same thing. The full ledger holds 765 gaps across 163 records.