DNSP-11 dosage and evidence
Written by Aaron CuhaReviewed Sep 2026
The short answer
DNSP-11 is a peptide of 11 amino acids cut from the parent form of GDNF.
Evidence grade for DNSP-11: Animal or lab only. The rule: only animal or lab studies on this page. No study in people yet. The sum on this page: 4 animal studies, 1 lab study, no human study. A grade counts how much has been done to people, not whether it works.
- People given it
- 0
- Human studies
- 0
- Found nothing
- 0
Dose
No human dose established
No published study on this page has given this compound to people and reported a result.
4 animal studies, 1 lab study, no human study
2 effects reported, 2 unwanted, by people using it, not a trial
Goal pages: Fat loss and metabolism
In plain English
In plain English, from Aaron
This is how I would explain it to a friend. The evidence, with the numbers, is further down the page.
DNSP-11 is a small peptide cut from the parent form of GDNF. GDNF is a growth factor that keeps dopamine cells alive. Researchers hope it could help Parkinson disease. No human has ever had it. It is not approved anywhere.
What people take it for
- Protecting dopamine cells in Parkinson disease.
- Brain health, taken as a nose spray.
What studies in people showed
Nobody has tested this in people, and no human study has ever been registered. All the work comes from one US lab. In rats, one shot into the brain raised dopamine for weeks. A nose spray reached the rat brain within 30 minutes and partly protected damaged cells. A later rat study found less. In a small group of monkeys, 10 weeks of nose spray changed dopamine breakdown products, with no bad effects seen.
What people report
Reports, not study results
The good
- We have not collected user reports on this one yet.
The bad
- There is no human safety data of any kind.
- No other lab has repeated the findings.
Where these come from: From the animal and cell studies on this page. We have no user reports.
My bottom line
My opinion: promising rat work from one lab, and zero people. Anything sold as DNSP-11 is a guess in a vial. For your brain, sleep, lifting and blood work come first.
An opinion, not a finding. I am a coach, not a doctor.
What it has been measured to do
Animal and lab work, not yet tested in people
Real results, but from animals or cells, not people. What works in a mouse often does not work the same way in a person. Nobody can patent this, so nobody would ever earn back the cost of a study in people. That is usually why there is none. The record on this one is set out below.
- Losing weight1 animal or lab study
35 of the 36 indexed goals have no study of any kind behind DNSP-11
No study in people, animals or cells on this page reports a result for these. That does not prove DNSP-11 does nothing for them. It does mean anything you have heard about DNSP-11 and one of these did not come from a study cited here.
Show full evidence
What is DNSP-11?
DNSP-11 is a peptide of 11 amino acids cut from the parent form of GDNF. GDNF is a growth factor that failed to help Parkinson disease in trials because it could not be delivered. In rats and a few monkeys, DNSP-11 raises dopamine activity and protects dopamine cells, including when given as a nose spray. No human has had it.
GDNF, short for glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, keeps dopamine cells alive in every animal model of Parkinson disease it has been tried in. In people it has been a letdown. The main reason is that it is a big protein. It does not reach the deep brain area called the striatum from anywhere it can be safely put. DNSP-11 is one attempt around that. It is a peptide of 11 amino acids. One American brain research team (Bradley, Gash, Gerhardt and colleagues) proposed that it is cut from the parent form of GDNF. In their hands it acts like GDNF on dopamine cells, even though it does not stick to GDNF's receptor.
No human has had DNSP-11. A PubMed search finds no human study. ClinicalTrials.gov holds no registered trial under any of its names. What exists is a set of rodent and cell papers from one lab, paid for by the US National Institutes of Health, plus one monkey study.
In a 2010 paper, DNSP-11 helped young dopamine cells survive and grow in a dish. It protected a dopamine cell line from the toxin 6-hydroxydopamine. In normal rats, one shot into the substantia nigra, the brain's dopamine hub, raised resting dopamine for up to 28 days. In rats with toxin damaged dopamine cells, it improved a turning test and raised dopamine. A 2014 follow up found less. Four weeks after one shot, triggered dopamine release did not change by one method. It rose in parts of the striatum by another method at two weeks. Movement did not change. Two methods papers then tested a nose spray. In rats, repeated doses reached the brain within 30 minutes, raised dopamine activity at 300 mcg and partly protected damaged rats. In awake rhesus monkeys, repeated nose spray doses over 10 weeks changed dopamine breakdown products in the striatum. No bad behaviour or weight loss was seen.
DNSP-11 has no approval anywhere and has never been sent to a regulator. We could find no other lab that has repeated the team's work in a published paper.
How does DNSP-11 work?
In people, nothing has been measured. In cells and rodents, DNSP-11 does not seem to work through GDNF's usual receptor pair, GFRalpha1 and RET. The 2010 paper notes it protects cell lines that GDNF does not. The 2014 paper reports a signal called ERK1/2 switching on in a dopamine cell line, as a possible step. It blocks cell death caused by staurosporine and gramicidin in starved cells. It stops mitochondria from leaking cytochrome c, a death signal. The authors read that as protecting the cell's power plants. A 2011 study shows it dissolves well and stays stable for a month. Unlike GDNF, it does not stick to heparin, which should let it spread through tissue. No receptor for DNSP-11 has been found. After a shot into the brain, nerve cells take it up, by a route nobody knows.
What have studies in people found about DNSP-11?
None. No study has given DNSP-11 to a human, and no human study has ever been registered.
What this does not tell you: There is no human data of any kind. So nothing can be said about safety, dose, delivery or effect in a person. The animal work comes from one lab, and its 2014 paper found mixed results. We found no outside lab that repeated it. A nose spray reaches the brain differently in a 300 gram rat than in a person. The monkey study was a methods paper with small groups. GDNF itself, with much stronger animal data, did not help people with Parkinson disease in trials against a dummy treatment. DNSP-11 would need to solve the same delivery problem before anything else.
The state of the research
DNSP-11 is a university discovery that has not left the university. Every paper on it comes from one group of authors working together (Bradley, Gash, Gerhardt and colleagues). The US National Institutes of Health paid for the work, from 2010 to 2019. That is not a criticism. It is where early brain science lives. But it means one team's word stands behind every finding. And the team's own 2014 paper found less than its 2010 paper on some measures. That the peptide exists in the brain was first guessed from where enzymes should cut the parent protein. A 2019 paper from the same group reports antibody staining in rat brain that fits with it.
The nose spray work is the interesting part. Delivery is exactly what the DNSP-11 papers call GDNF's problem in patients. GDNF is a large protein that does not spread to where it is needed. An 11 amino acid peptide that reaches the rat striatum from the nose within half an hour is a real step forward, in an animal. Whether that happens inside a monkey's skull is what the 2018 study began to ask. Nobody has taken it further. We found no company that has licensed it into a human programme, and no study exists. Anything sold as DNSP-11 is a peptide with two rodent papers on whether it works and a monkey methods study behind it, and nothing else.
The evidence, in charts
Fig. 1a · how many people
0people have taken this in any study cited here
0 people · 0 studies in people
What this page cites instead is 4 animal studies and 1 lab study in a dish. None of them gave the compound to a person.
Counted from the list of sources on this page. We draw this chart only when a study in people is cited. An empty one is the answer, not a gap in the page.
Fig. 1b · evidence mix
None of the 5 sources here are studies in people.
- Animal study · done in animals480%
- Lab (cells in a dish) · cells or tissue120%
Counted from the list of sources on this page. It counts only what we cite, so there may be more studies out there. A review counts once, however many studies it sums up.
Fig. 2 · evidence over time
The studies cover 5 different years, 2010 to 2018, counted from the list of sources on this page. The newest source on file is from 2018, more than five years ago. Research on it may have gone quiet.
Fig. 3 · legal status at a glance
US
Not approved
UK
Not approved
AU
Not approved
CA
Not approved
Not approved in any of the four countries shown. This is what the law says, not a verdict on the science. See Legal status below for the full text and any notes.
Fig. 4 · how much does what
Nobody has tested different amounts in people
This chart would show how the effect changes as the amount goes up. For this compound, nobody has measured that in people. So we leave it empty. We will not borrow an animal chart and pretend it works the same in people.
Fig. 5 · what the molecule is
- Kind of compound
- Peptide
- Molecule weight
- Not on file
- Half-life
- None on file
- Chain length
- None on file
No amino acid sequence is on file for DNSP-11, so none is drawn rather than guessed from a name.
The studies we cite
- Animal study2010Dopamine neuron stimulating actions of a GDNF propeptide
In rats and in a dish. DNSP-11 helped young dopamine cells survive and grow in a dish, and protected a dopamine cell line from a toxin. In rats, one shot into the brain's dopamine hub raised dopamine for up to 28 days. In rats with toxin damaged dopamine cells, it improved a turning test and raised dopamine. It did not seem to work through GDNF's receptor. Public money paid.
In culture, DNSP-11 supported survival and neurite outgrowth of fetal midbrain dopamine neurons and protected MN9D cells from 6-hydroxydopamine. In rats, a single nigral injection raised resting dopamine and metabolites for up to 28 days, and in 6-hydroxydopamine lesioned rats improved apomorphine induced rotation and raised nigral dopamine. Effects appeared independent of the GFRalpha1 receptor. NIH funded.
- Animal study2014Dynamic changes in dopamine neuron function after DNSP-11 treatment: effects in vivo and increased ERK 1/2 phosphorylation in vitro
In rats. The same lab gave one shot into the brain's dopamine hub. Four weeks later, triggered dopamine release had not changed by one method. At two weeks, it had risen in parts of the brain by another method. Movement did not change. In a dish, a growth signal switched on in dopamine cells. A mixed result. Public money paid.
Single nigral dose in rats: no change in potassium or amphetamine evoked dopamine release by microdialysis at 4 weeks; increased potassium evoked release in striatal subregions by chronoamperometry at 2 weeks; no change in locomotor activity. ERK1/2 phosphorylation in MN9D cells. A mixed result from the same laboratory. NIH funded.
- Animal study2015Methodology and effects of repeated intranasal delivery of DNSP-11 in a rat model of Parkinson's disease
In rats. A nose spray given for 3 weeks raised dopamine activity in normal rats at 300 mcg. In rats with toxin damaged dopamine cells, it cut a turning test at 2 weeks and saved some dopamine cells in one area. Tagged peptide reached the brain within 30 minutes of a nasal dose. Public money paid.
Repeated intranasal dosing for 3 weeks raised dopamine turnover in striatum and substantia nigra of normal rats at 300 mcg; in 6-hydroxydopamine lesioned rats it reduced amphetamine induced rotation at 2 weeks and spared tyrosine hydroxylase positive neurons in one nigral subregion. Radiolabelled peptide reached striatum and nigra within 30 minutes of a nasal dose. NIH funded.
- Animal study2018Methodology and effects of repeated intranasal delivery of DNSP-11 in awake Rhesus macaques
In monkeys. Awake rhesus monkeys got a nose spray at rising doses over 10 weeks, including monkeys given a toxin that damages dopamine cells. Dopamine breakdown products in the brain changed on both sides. No bad behaviour or weight loss was seen. This was a methods study with small groups. Public money paid.
Repeated intranasal dosing with dose escalation over 10 weeks in awake rhesus macaques, including MPTP treated animals. Bilateral changes in striatal dopamine metabolites without observed adverse behavioural effects or weight loss. A methods and proof of concept study; group sizes are small. NIH funded.
- Lab (cells in a dish)2011Evaluation of the physical and in vitro protective activity of three synthetic peptides derived from the pro- and mature GDNF sequence
In a dish. Three lab made peptides from GDNF, including DNSP-11, dissolved well and stayed stable for a month. Unlike GDNF, DNSP-11 did not stick to heparin, which should help it spread in tissue. It protected human kidney cells from two toxins, more at higher doses. Public money paid.
DNSP-11, DNSP-5 and DNSP-17 are soluble, stable for a month under a range of conditions, and DNSP-11 does not bind heparin, unlike GDNF, which should aid diffusion in tissue. DNSP-11 protected HEK-293 cells dose dependently from staurosporine and 3-nitropropionate toxicity. NIH funded.
Where to buy DNSP-11
1 seller lists DNSP-11 in our latest read. They are ranked by trust score, then by archive rating, then by certificate tier, then by the lowest price per milligram. Archive evidence is counted before source-backed. Each path is out of 4, and the two are not added. A higher price does not raise the score. The letter is the certificate chip. 0 of them have a published certificate that names DNSP-11.
Some seller links may pay this site when you buy through them. A payment never changes a seller's tier or rank, and no seller has a say in any page.
| Seller | Trust score | Vial sizes | From, per mg | Certificate for DNSP-11 | Seller link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Behemoth Labz | 49 WeakSource-backed 3 of 4. Archive evidence 1 of 4.B | 5 mg, 10 mg | $21.6 | None found for DNSP-11 | View |
- LC Lab-confirmed: the issuing laboratory echoed this certificate back
- A Current certificate, independent laboratory named, laboratory not yet checked
- B Certificate published, but no laboratory link, older than a year, or the laboratory did not recognise the published lookup
- C No certificate could be read
Every listing and vial size for DNSP-11 · How the trust score is counted
Sellers named on the price pages are ranked by certificate tier, then price, and any affiliate income is disclosed there. Naming a seller is not a recommendation to buy or use anything.
Common questions
Has DNSP-11 been tested in people?
Not in any study cited here. DNSP-11 is a peptide of 11 amino acids cut from the parent form of GDNF.
What is the DNSP-11 dosage?
No human dose established. No published study on this page has given this compound to people and reported a result. 4 animal studies, 1 lab study, no human study
Is DNSP-11 FDA-approved?
Not FDA approved. No human study and no registered trial. Animal or lab only: it has only been tested in animals and in cells in a dish.
Has DNSP-11 been tested in humans?
No. There is no published human study, and no human study has ever been registered. Every finding comes from rats, cells in a dish and one small study in rhesus monkeys.
What does it do in animals?
In rats, one shot into the brain's dopamine hub raised dopamine for weeks. It improved movement in rats with damaged dopamine cells. Repeated nose spray doses raised dopamine activity and partly protected nerve cells. A follow up found no change in triggered dopamine release by one method, and a rise in part of the brain by another, with no change in movement. In monkeys, 10 weeks of nose spray changed dopamine breakdown products in the brain, with no bad effects seen.
Is it the same as GDNF?
No. GDNF is a large protein. DNSP-11 is an 11 amino acid peptide that researchers think is cut from GDNF's parent form. It does not seem to work through GDNF's receptor, and no receptor for it has been found. GDNF itself has failed to help people with Parkinson disease in trials against a dummy treatment, mainly because it is hard to deliver.
Does intranasal DNSP-11 reach the brain?
In rats, tagged peptide showed up in the striatum and substantia nigra within 30 minutes of a nasal dose. Nobody has tested whether that happens across the much longer distances of a human head. The monkey study measured dopamine breakdown products, not where the peptide went.