Research Guide
Tesamorelin, sermorelin, and CJC-1295 all act on the same target — the growth hormone releasing hormone (GHRH) receptor — but their structural differences produce meaningfully different research profiles. Understanding these differences is essential for protocol design in growth hormone axis research.
Sermorelin is the 1-29 amino acid fragment of endogenous GHRH — the shortest sequence retaining full receptor activity. Its defining characteristic is a very short half-life (roughly 10-20 minutes in research models), producing a brief, pulsatile receptor stimulus that closely mimics natural GHRH signaling. This makes it the reference compound for studying physiological GH release patterns.
CJC-1295 without DAC (also called Mod GRF 1-29) is sermorelin with four amino acid substitutions that resist enzymatic degradation, extending the half-life to approximately 30 minutes while preserving the pulsatile character. It is frequently studied in combination with a GHRP like ipamorelin, which acts on the complementary ghrelin receptor — the rationale for the widely-researched CJC-1295/Ipamorelin pairing.
Tesamorelin is a 44-amino acid GHRH analog with a trans-3-hexenoic acid modification at the N-terminus, conferring greater stability than either sermorelin or CJC-1295 No DAC. It is distinguished by having an FDA-approved pharmaceutical counterpart (Egrifta) and an extensive published clinical literature, particularly around visceral adipose tissue research. Note its shorter reconstituted stability window (14-21 days versus ~28 for most peptides), which favors smaller vial sizes.
Plato Peptides carries all three GHRH analogs — plus the CJC-1295/Ipamorelin blend — each with third-party COA documentation available.