SLU-PP-332

SLU-PP-332 is a synthetic small molecule, not a peptide, that activates the three estrogen-related receptors (ERRα, ERRβ, and ERRγ) and has been studied exclusively in mice as an “exercise mimetic,” a compound intended to reproduce some metabolic effects of aerobic exercise without physical activity. It was developed at Saint Louis University and has not been tested in humans. It is not approved for any use, and no human safety or dosing data exist.

Research snapshot

Category	Current information
Peptide category	Small-molecule pan-ERR receptor agonist (not a peptide)
Primary research interest	Exercise-mimetic metabolic and endurance effects, metabolic syndrome, kidney aging
Highest available evidence	Published animal research (mouse); no human data of any kind
Human research available	No — never administered to a human being in any published or registered trial
Development status	Preclinical only; academic and pharmaceutical-industry research tool, with patent interest from Ligand Pharmaceuticals
Regulatory status	Not approved anywhere; no human trials as of September 2026

Technical identity

Technical property	Information
Primary name	SLU-PP-332
Alternative names	SLUPP332, SLU PP 332, CHEMBL4208749; described as an “exercise mimetic” or “exercise pill” in marketing material
Peptide sequence	Not applicable — SLU-PP-332 is a non-peptide small molecule, not an amino-acid sequence
Amino-acid length	Not applicable
Molecular formula	C18H14N2O2
Molecular weight	Approximately 306.3 g/mol (calculated from the formula)
CAS Registry Number	303760-60-3
PubChem CID	5404083
Chemical modifications	Not applicable
Peptide class	Not a peptide — synthetic pan-ERR (estrogen-related receptor) agonist
Primary biological target	ERR-alpha, ERR-beta, and ERR-gamma nuclear receptors
Developer or originator	Academic research compound; patent interest from Ligand Pharmaceuticals
Development status	Preclinical (mouse studies only); no human trials registered

What it is

SLU-PP-332 is a non-peptide small molecule, first described by researchers at Saint Louis University, that acts as a pan-agonist of the estrogen-related receptors (ERRα, ERRβ, and ERRγ), a family of nuclear receptors involved in mitochondrial biogenesis and energy metabolism, distinct from the classical estrogen receptors despite the similar name. Patent rights are associated with Ligand Pharmaceuticals. As of September 2026, all published data on SLU-PP-332 come from mouse studies; it has not entered human clinical trials and has no regulatory status anywhere.

How does it work?

Plain-English explanation

Exercise triggers a cascade of changes in muscle cells, partly through activation of the ERR family of receptors, that increase the number and efficiency of mitochondria (the energy-producing structures in cells) and improve how the body burns fat for fuel. SLU-PP-332 directly turns on those same receptors with a pill or injection, in mice, without the animal actually exercising, which is why researchers call it an exercise mimetic.

Technical explanation

SLU-PP-332 activates ERRα, ERRβ, and ERRγ, with strongest potency at ERRα (reported EC50 around 98 nM). In mouse studies it has been shown to increase mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative metabolism in skeletal muscle, reproducing part of the transcriptional signature normally induced by aerobic exercise training, and to induce an ERRα-dependent acute exercise-like response even in sedentary, non-exercising animals.

Potential benefits and research applications

Exercise-mimetic metabolic and endurance effects (mouse studies only)

What is being investigated: whether directly activating ERR receptors can reproduce metabolic and endurance benefits normally requiring aerobic exercise. How the effect might occur: increased mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative capacity in skeletal muscle. Evidence: published mouse studies report that SLU-PP-332 increased exercise capacity and fat oxidation in sedentary mice without increasing food intake or physical activity, and a source document supplied for this entry (not an independent scientific source) described obese mice losing about 12 percent body weight and gaining roughly 10 times less fat than untreated controls, while running about 50 percent further; these specific figures were not independently verified against the original peer-reviewed paper for this entry and are attributed to that document rather than confirmed firsthand. Strength: the general finding, that SLU-PP-332 reproduces exercise-like metabolic changes, has been reported in peer-reviewed mouse research. Limitation: every result is confined to mice; there is no human data of any kind, so nothing about dose, safety, or effect size in people can be inferred from these numbers.

Metabolic syndrome and kidney aging (mouse studies only)

What is being investigated: whether ERR activation can counteract features of metabolic syndrome and age-related mitochondrial decline. How the effect might occur: the same mitochondrial biogenesis and oxidative metabolism pathway used in the exercise-mimetic research. Evidence: mouse studies report that SLU-PP-332 counteracted features of metabolic syndrome and reversed markers of mitochondrial dysfunction and inflammation in the aging mouse kidney. Strength: has been reported in peer-reviewed mouse research from more than one study. Limitation: entirely preclinical; no human kidney, metabolic, or aging study has been conducted.

What dosage information circulates?

Figures in this section summarize amounts and schedules reported in published research or circulating online. Their inclusion documents what is reported and does not establish that a regimen is verified, safe, effective, or appropriate.

No established or reliably sourced human dosing information was identified for SLU-PP-332, because it has never been administered to a human being in any published or registered trial. All dosing information that exists describes mouse studies, in units (mg per kg of animal body weight, injected or fed) that cannot be safely or meaningfully converted into a human amount.

Reported use or research objective	Route reported	Amount reported	Frequency reported	Reported duration	Evidence or source category
Exercise-mimetic metabolic/endurance research (mouse)	Not consistently reported at the level of a simple figure across studies	Not consistently reported; published mouse dosing varies by study design (diet-induced obesity, aging, and acute exercise-response models) and by route	Not consistently reported	Varies by study	Published animal research
General “exercise in a bottle” / metabolic framing	Not applicable — no human dosing protocol exists	Not established	Not established	Not established	Not applicable; this site does not reproduce a circulating “dosing protocol” for SLU-PP-332, because no such protocol has ever been tested in a human being

Amounts studied in animal research

Not consistently reported at the level of a simple table for this entry, because published mouse dosing varies by study design (diet-induced obesity models, aging models, acute exercise-response models) and by route. No conversion to a human-equivalent dose is made here.

Practitioner and community-reported protocols

Widely repeated online, but not from an identifiable clinical or even human source, since none exists. Several research-chemical vendor pages describe SLU-PP-332 in language implying use in people or in “research test subjects” generally, without ever specifying that every underlying study was conducted exclusively in mice. This site does not reproduce any circulating “dosing protocol” for SLU-PP-332, because no such protocol has ever been tested in a human being.

Side effects, risks, and limitations

No human safety data exist for SLU-PP-332, because it has never been given to a person in a registered trial. Reported mouse studies have not focused on toxicity or adverse effects in the way a phase 1 human trial would, and no source located for this entry describes a systematic safety evaluation, even in animals. Anyone offering SLU-PP-332 for human use is not selling an evaluated drug; it is, at best, an unstudied compound in people and, as a matter of basic pharmacology, no dose, frequency, or route in humans can be considered established or safe.

Regulatory and developmental status

SLU-PP-332 is not approved anywhere and has not entered human clinical trials as of September 2026. It remains an academic and pharmaceutical-industry research tool, studied only in mice, with patent interest from Ligand Pharmaceuticals. No sponsor has announced a first-in-human trial for this entry.

Frequently asked questions

What is SLU-PP-332?

A synthetic small molecule (not a peptide) that activates the ERR family of receptors, studied in mice as an “exercise mimetic.” It has never been tested in humans.

Is SLU-PP-332 a peptide?

No. It is a small molecule, chemically unrelated to peptides like BPC-157 or the GLP-1 drugs, despite sometimes being marketed alongside them.

How does it work?

It directly activates ERRα, ERRβ, and ERRγ receptors, the same receptor family exercise normally activates indirectly, triggering some of the mitochondrial and metabolic changes exercise produces, in mice, without the animal exercising.

What dosage has been studied?

No established or reliably sourced human dosing information was identified, because SLU-PP-332 has never been given to a human in any published or registered trial. Only mouse dosing data exist.

Has it been studied in humans?

No. Every published finding on SLU-PP-332 comes from mouse studies. There is no human trial, and no human safety, dosing, or efficacy data of any kind.

Is it approved?

No. It has no regulatory status anywhere and is not being sold as an approved drug in any country.

Did mice really lose 12 percent body weight on this compound?

A figure describing obese mice losing about 12 percent body weight and gaining substantially less fat than untreated mice while running further circulates in vendor and secondary sources; this entry has not independently verified that specific figure against the original peer-reviewed paper and presents it only as a reported, unverified claim.

What remains unknown?

Essentially everything about its effects, dosing, and safety in humans, since no human study of any kind has been conducted. Whether ERR agonism would behave the same way in a person as in a mouse is also unestablished.

Bottom line

SLU-PP-332 is a real, peer-reviewed research compound studied in mice for its ability to mimic some metabolic effects of exercise by directly activating ERR receptors. Every finding about it, including any weight-loss or endurance figures that circulate, comes from mouse studies; there is no human data of any kind, no established human dose, and no regulatory approval anywhere. Marketing material that discusses it in terms of “research test subjects” without specifying that the subjects were mice is misleading about how far the evidence actually extends.

Related entries: AOD-9604, a fragment of growth hormone.