Many peptide-related claims begin with a receptor, signalling pathway or hormone effect. WhichPeps uses mechanism to explain biological plausibility, then asks whether that mechanism produced a meaningful measured outcome in the relevant human population.
Receptors and signalling
Some peptides or peptide analogues act as ligands for receptors. An agonist can activate a receptor; an antagonist can block or reduce a receptor response. Receptor activity can alter downstream signalling, but the clinical importance depends on what actually happens in the studied organism or population.
Hormones and analogues
Natural peptide hormones are signalling molecules produced by the body. Medicinal analogues can be engineered to modify stability, receptor selectivity, exposure or delivery. Structural similarity does not make two analogues clinically equivalent.
Half-life and exposure
Half-life is one pharmacokinetic feature. It helps describe how long exposure persists under defined conditions, but it does not by itself determine a safe or effective dose for a person. Pharmacokinetics describes what the body does to a substance; pharmacodynamics describes the observed biological effects.
Route and formulation
Oral, subcutaneous, intravenous, intramuscular and topical administration can produce very different exposure. Excipients, concentration, delivery device and formulation technology can also change how an active ingredient behaves.
From mechanism to outcome
Each step requires evidence. Skipping from “activates receptor X” to “therefore treats condition Y” is exactly the inference WhichPeps is designed to prevent.