Cardiovascular · Investigational
Urocortin 3
No lawful US pathway
01 · Overview
Urocortin 3, also known as stresscopin, is a 38-amino acid peptide selective for CRF receptor 2 (PMID 12970163). It produces vasodilation and increases cardiac output, and it has been cardioprotective in experimental models of myocardial ischemia (PMID 12970163).
Its receptor selectivity largely avoids stimulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal stress axis, which is seen as an advantage over urocortin 1 (PMID 12970163).
02 · Research summary & key findings
In animal studies, urocortin 3 protected cardiomyocytes and isolated rat hearts against ischemia-reperfusion injury and reduced infarct size (PMID 12970163). In patients, intra-arterial and intravenous urocortin 3 caused vasodilation, raised cardiac index, and lowered peripheral vascular resistance (PMID 27275843), and in a randomized, placebo-controlled study of 62 patients with reduced ejection fraction, intravenous human stresscopin acetate progressively increased cardiac index and reduced systemic vascular resistance without significant changes in heart rate or blood pressure (PMID 23471413). No clinical outcome trials have been reported.
03 · Regulatory status
Urocortin 3 is in the investigational stage. While preclinical and early-phase data exist, it has not received regulatory approval for clinical use in the United States.
No lawful pathway today
Urocortin 3 is not FDA-approved and does not currently have a lawful prescription or compounding pathway in the United States, so we do not sell it and will not book a consultation for it. That can change: in 2026 FDA began reviewing several peptides for compounding.
See the 4 FDA-approved compounds in Cardiovascular
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04 · Administration routes
- Intravenous
References
- [1]Urocortin-II and urocortin-III are cardioprotective against ischemia reperfusion injury: an essential endogenous cardioprotective role for corticotropin releasing factor receptor type 2 in the murine heart Endocrinology, 2004. PMID 12970163
- [2]Haemodynamic effects, safety, and pharmacokinetics of human stresscopin in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction Eur J Heart Fail, 2013. PMID 23471413
- [3]Cardiovascular effects of urocortin 2 and urocortin 3 in patients with chronic heart failure Br J Clin Pharmacol, 2016. PMID 27275843
Primary literature
- PubMed: "Urocortin 3"
Peer-reviewed literature indexed by the National Library of Medicine.
- ClinicalTrials.gov: "Urocortin 3"
Registered interventional and observational studies, including status and phase.
- PubChem: "Urocortin 3"
Chemical structure, molecular properties, and bioactivity data.
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