SLU-PP-332 is a synthetic small-molecule agonist of the estrogen-related receptors ERRα, ERRβ and ERRγ, first described by Billon and colleagues in 2023. It is often listed as “SLU-PP-332 peptide”, but it is not a peptide: it is an acylhydrazone with the formula C18H14N2O2 and no amino acids at all. Published work on it so far comes from cell lines and mice.
Clean Peptide does not stock SLU-PP-332. This page describes the compound from published sources only, so there is no price, no certificate and no order button.
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Compounds we do stock that appear in mitochondrial and metabolic research: MOTS-C and SS-31. Every size ships with its own certificate of analysis.
SLU-PP-332 at a glance
| Name | SLU-PP-332 |
|---|---|
| Other names | ERR pan-agonist 332; (E)-4-hydroxy-N’-(naphthalen-2-ylmethylene)benzohydrazide; CHEMBL4208749 |
| Compound class | Synthetic small molecule (acylhydrazone of 4-hydroxybenzoic acid and 2-naphthaldehyde). Not a peptide. |
| Molecular formula | C18H14N2O2 |
| Molecular weight | 290.3 g/mol |
| CAS number | 303760-60-3 |
| PubChem CID | 5338394 |
| SMILES | C1=CC=C2C=C(C=CC2=C1)/C=N/NC(=O)C3=CC=C(C=C3)O |
| Target | Estrogen-related receptors ERRα, ERRβ and ERRγ (orphan nuclear receptors); highest reported potency at ERRα |
| Origin | First reported in 2023 by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis College of Pharmacy and Saint Louis University (Billon, Walker, Burris and colleagues) |
| Regulatory status | Not an approved drug; no FDA labelling and no registered clinical trials |
Identity data: PubChem CID 5338394.
Is SLU-PP-332 a peptide?
No. A peptide is a chain of amino acids joined by peptide bonds. SLU-PP-332 has neither: it is a hydrazone formed from 4-hydroxybenzoic acid hydrazide and 2-naphthaldehyde, about the size of a typical small-molecule drug at 290 g/mol. A short peptide such as KPV (three amino acids) is already larger, at around 340 g/mol.
The “peptide” label comes from the shops that sell it next to peptides, not from its chemistry. The same mix-up happens with NAD+, which is a dinucleotide, not a peptide (see What is a NAD peptide?).
How SLU-PP-332 works: ERR agonism
The estrogen-related receptors are nuclear receptors that switch on genes for mitochondrial biogenesis, fatty-acid oxidation and oxidative metabolism. Despite the name, they do not bind estrogen. They are “orphan” receptors with no confirmed natural ligand, which is why synthetic agonists such as SLU-PP-332 are useful research tools.
In the paper that introduced it, Billon et al. reported that SLU-PP-332 activates all three ERR subtypes, is most potent at ERRα, and has pharmacokinetic properties good enough to use as an in-vivo chemical tool in mice. A 2024 study in heart tissue found that ERRγ, not ERRα, carried most of the transcriptional response there, so which receptor dominates appears to depend on the tissue studied.
Published research on SLU-PP-332
All of the published work is preclinical: cultured cells, mouse models and, for doping control, human liver fractions in a test tube. There are no published human studies and no registered clinical trials.
- Exercise gene programme in muscle (mice, 2023). SLU-PP-332 raised mitochondrial function and respiration in a skeletal-muscle cell line. In mice it increased type IIa oxidative fibres, switched on an ERRα-dependent acute aerobic exercise gene programme and increased running endurance; the endurance effect needed ERRα. Synthetic ERRα/β/γ Agonist Induces an ERRα-Dependent Acute Aerobic Exercise Response and Enhances Exercise Capacity. Billon C, et al. ACS Chemical Biology, 2023.
- Metabolic models (mice, 2024). In diet-induced obese and ob/ob mice the authors measured higher whole-body energy expenditure and fatty-acid oxidation, less fat-mass accumulation and better insulin sensitivity. A Synthetic ERR Agonist Alleviates Metabolic Syndrome. Billon C, et al. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 2024.
- Pressure-overload heart failure (mice, 2024). SLU-PP-332 and a second agonist, SLU-PP-915, increased ejection fraction, reduced fibrosis and improved survival without changing cardiac hypertrophy, alongside activation of fatty-acid and mitochondrial genes. Genetic experiments pointed to ERRγ as the main mediator in heart. Novel Pan-ERR Agonists Ameliorate Heart Failure Through Enhancing Cardiac Fatty Acid Metabolism and Mitochondrial Function. Xu W, et al. Circulation, 2024.
- Aging kidney (mice, 2023). ERR expression was lower in aging human and mouse kidneys. An 8-week course in 21-month-old mice reversed age-related albuminuria, podocyte loss, mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammatory cytokines, with changes in cGAS-STING and STAT3 signalling. Estrogen-Related Receptor Agonism Reverses Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Inflammation in the Aging Kidney. Wang XX, et al. American Journal of Pathology, 2023.
- Oral successor compound (mice, 2026). The same group notes that SLU-PP-332 lacks oral bioavailability and describes SLU-PP-915, a chemically distinct pan-ERR agonist that matched it on running endurance when injected and kept comparable efficacy when given by mouth. An orally active estrogen receptor-related receptor agonist, SLU-PP-915, enhances aerobic exercise capacity. Billon C, et al. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 2026.
- Structure-activity relationships (2026). The first systematic analogue study of the SLU-PP-332 scaffold mapped which parts of the molecule control ERRα and ERRγ agonism, and found analogues with better solubility or metabolic stability. SLU-PP-332 remains the benchmark compound. Chemical optimization of the exercise mimetic SLU-PP-332 enables insight into estrogen-related receptor signaling. Okda HE, et al. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, 2026.
- Metabolites for doping control (in vitro, 2026). Incubation with pooled human liver S9 fractions produced 22 phase I and phase II metabolites; eight are proposed as markers for anti-doping tests. Analysis and Identification of In Vitro Metabolites of Exercise Mimetic SLU-PP-332 ERRα/β/γ Agonist for Doping-Control Purposes. Avliyakulov NK, et al. Drug Testing and Analysis, 2026.
Regulatory status
SLU-PP-332 is not an approved medicine anywhere. A search of DailyMed returns no labelling for it, and ClinicalTrials.gov lists no studies. It is described in the literature as a chemical probe for studying ERR biology. The 2026 doping-control paper notes that the World Anti-Doping Agency prohibits exercise mimetics and metabolic modulators in sport.
Related research on Clean Peptide
- MOTS-C: a 16-amino-acid mitochondrial-derived peptide, stocked with a per-lot ILS Laboratories certificate.
- SS-31: a mitochondria-targeted tetrapeptide, stocked in 10 mg and 50 mg.
- 5-Amino-1MQ: another small molecule often sold as a “peptide”, explained.
- What is a peptide? The definition SLU-PP-332 does not meet.
- How to read a certificate of analysis, for whichever compound you source.
