FOXO4-DRI

Preclinical

FOXO4-D-Retro-Inverso Peptide

Aliases
FOXO4-DRI, Proxofim
Administration
Subcutaneous injection (preclinical/animal research only)

How it works

  1. Binds FOXO4 and disrupts its interaction with p53, allowing p53 to relocate to the mitochondria and trigger apoptosis specifically in senescent cells.

    Senescent cells are "zombie cells" — old, damaged cells that refuse to die and instead release inflammatory signals. This peptide cuts the specific lifeline keeping those zombie cells alive.

  2. Senescent cells rely on the FOXO4-p53 interaction to resist their own programmed cell death; disrupting it selectively removes them while leaving healthy, non-senescent cells largely unaffected.

    Because healthy cells don't rely on this same lifeline, the effect is fairly selective — clearing out the old, damaged cells without harming the surrounding healthy tissue.

Result

Preclinical research suggests selective clearance of aging, dysfunctional cells, which in animal models has translated to reduced tissue fibrosis and improved tissue quality — though this has not yet been confirmed in human trials.