WE-14
A 14-amino-acid chromogranin-A fragment that the immune system attacks in type 1 diabetes — and a blood marker for adrenal tumours. A research peptide, not a drug
WE-14 is a small peptide — 14 amino acids — cut from chromogranin A, the granin protein stored in the secretory granules of nerve and endocrine cells. Its name comes from its ends: a tryptophan (W) at the start and a glutamate (E) at the finish. The same precursor gives rise to catestatin, pancreastatin, serpinin, vasostatin and chromofungin, but WE-14 is made in only a subset of those cells — in the adrenal medulla, pituitary, parathyroid and the acid-related ECL cells of the stomach. For years its own job was called 'enigmatic', because no clear receptor was found. What has made WE-14 important is a different discovery: it is one of the molecules the immune system wrongly attacks in type 1 diabetes. WE-14 is the natural chromogranin-A peptide recognised by the diabetes-causing T cells that destroy the insulin-making beta cells, first in the NOD mouse model and then in people with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes; a chemical change to its front end turns it into a far stronger trigger, which may be how these T cells escape the body's self-tolerance. Separately, WE-14 is a useful clinical marker: its blood level rises in pheochromocytoma and, combined with other chromogranin peptides, sharpens the diagnosis of neuroendocrine tumours. WE-14 is studied as a research peptide and an autoimmune target; it is not an approved medicine and has not been given to people as a treatment.
No established human dose Details ↓
Recommended Dosing
No established human dose
WE-14 is an endogenous chromogranin-A-derived peptide that has never been given to people as a treatment. The human studies measure the body's own WE-14 as a marker or study it as an immune target, and the rest of the work is in animals and cells.
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What is it?
Chromogranin A is a granin protein packed into the secretory granules of nerve and endocrine cells, and when processed it yields a whole family of smaller peptides. WE-14 is one of them — 14 amino acids long, corresponding to residues 324-337 of human chromogranin A, and named for the tryptophan (W) and glutamate (E) at its ends. Unlike some of its siblings, WE-14 is generated in only a distinct subpopulation of chromogranin-A cells, most notably in the adrenal medulla, pituitary and parathyroid glands and in the gastric ECL cells, and it appears early in fetal development and is conserved across species. For a long time its own signalling role stayed unclear, with only putative receptor-binding sites identified.
WE-14's prominence now rests on autoimmunity. In the non-obese diabetic (NOD) mouse — the standard model of type 1 diabetes — WE-14 is the natural chromogranin-A peptide recognised by the diabetes-driving CD4 T cell clone BDC-2.5 and others, although on its own it is only a weak trigger. Researchers found that adding a few amino acids to the front of WE-14 turns it into a powerful activator: the crystal structure shows the extended peptide sits deeper in the groove of the mouse immune-presenting molecule, and fluorescent versions light up WE-14-specific T cells in the pancreas and its draining lymph nodes. The likely explanation is a post-translational change — possibly transpeptidation in the pancreas — that could let these T cells slip past the normal deletion of self-reactive cells in the thymus.
This is not just a mouse phenomenon. WE-14 also acts as a target for the autoreactive immune cells of people with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes, and that reactivity can be increased by the enzyme transglutaminase — tying WE-14 into the human disease. In this setting WE-14 is a piece of the body's own machinery that the immune system mistakenly treats as foreign; it is a disease mechanism, not a treatment.
WE-14 has a second, quite separate use as a diagnostic marker. Like other chromogranin-A peptides it escapes into the blood from neuroendocrine tumours. In patients with pheochromocytoma — tumours of the adrenal chromaffin cells — plasma WE-14 is about five-fold higher than in healthy volunteers and returns to normal after the tumour is removed. On its own WE-14 matches chromogranin A for diagnostic sensitivity, and combining WE-14 with CgA and the related peptide EM66 pushes the sensitivity for detecting pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas toward 100%. WE-14 is also found throughout the gastro-entero-pancreatic tract and in neuroendocrine tumours there, and it can modulate the release of histamine from mast cells.
WE-14 is an endogenous chromogranin-A-derived research peptide and marker. No published study has given WE-14 to people as a treatment — the human work measures the body's own peptide or studies it as an immune target, and the rest is animal and cell research — it is approved nowhere, and material sold online as 'WE-14' is an unregulated research chemical. Nothing here is a dose or a therapy; this page records what the published science says about the peptide.
Mechanism of Action
WE-14 is a 14-amino-acid peptide cut from chromogranin A (CgA 324-337) in a distinct subpopulation of CgA cells. Its own receptor is not established; its importance comes from being a CD4+ T-cell autoantigen in type 1 diabetes (a target of autoimmunity, strengthened by N-terminal/post-translational modification) and a circulating marker of neuroendocrine tumours, plus a modulator of mast-cell histamine release.
Chromogranin-A processing
WE-14 is generated by cell-specific proteolytic processing of chromogranin A, co-produced with peptides such as pancreastatin in ECL and chromaffin cells (PMIDs 12438141, 9272624).
Type 1 diabetes autoantigen
WE-14 is the natural CgA peptide recognised by diabetogenic CD4 T cells; N-terminal extension (a post-translational modification) greatly increases its potency and may let these T cells escape tolerance (PMID 26453556).
Tumour marker + mast-cell modulation
Plasma WE-14 rises in pheochromocytoma and sharpens neuroendocrine-tumour diagnosis with CgA and EM66 (PMID 24523932), and WE-14 modulates mast-cell histamine release (PMID 27517980).
Published Research
These are studies of WE-14 read from their PubMed abstracts on November 6, 2026. They include a review of WE-14 as a chromogranin-A neuropeptide, a study showing it is a type 1 diabetes autoantigen whose potency rises with N-terminal extension, a human study of plasma WE-14 as a pheochromocytoma marker, animal studies of its expression in gastric ECL cells and in the developing sympathoadrenal lineage, and a study of its effect on mast-cell histamine release. WE-14 has not been given to people as a treatment.
WE-14, a chromogranin A-derived neuropeptide
A review of WE-14 as a neuropeptide generated by post-translational processing of chromogranin A in a distinct subpopulation of CgA-positive cells — the adrenal, pituitary and parathyroid glands and the gastric ECL cells. WE-14 shows an ancient lineage and appears early in fetal development, neuroendocrine tumours stain variably for it, and putative receptor-binding sites have been found, but its physiological role remained enigmatic at the time (a review).
WE14 is a type 1 diabetes autoantigen strengthened by N-terminal extension
In the NOD mouse model of type 1 diabetes, the natural chromogranin-A peptide WE14 is a weak agonist for the diabetogenic T cell BDC-2.5, but adding amino acids (RLGL) to its N-terminus made it a potent activator of a diverse population of CD4 T cells that also respond to WE14 and to islets from normal (but not chromogranin-A-knockout) mice. The crystal structure confirmed the extended peptide's placement in the IA-g7 groove, and tetramers detected WE14-specific T cells in the pancreas and its lymph nodes — suggesting a pancreatic post-translational modification lets these T cells escape thymic deletion (a mechanistic study in mice).
Plasma WE-14 is a pheochromocytoma marker
In patients with pheochromocytoma, plasma WE-14 was 5.4-fold higher than in healthy volunteers and returned to normal after the tumour was removed. WE-14 alone matched chromogranin A for diagnostic sensitivity (84%), and combining WE-14 with CgA and EM66 raised sensitivity to 95% overall and to 100% for paragangliomas and sporadic or malignant pheochromocytomas — supporting granin-processing peptides as complementary neuroendocrine-tumour markers (a human observational study).
WE14 and pancreastatin in gastric ECL cells
In the rat stomach, the chromogranin-A peptides pancreastatin and WE14 were expressed in the enterochromaffin-like (ECL) cells of the acid-secreting mucosa — the richest body store of pancreastatin. Food deprivation lowered circulating pancreastatin, and stimulating the ECL cells with gastrin or omeprazole raised serum pancreastatin while depleting the peptides from the cells and increasing CgA messenger RNA, with preferential release of the low-molecular-mass forms (a preclinical result).
WE-14 appears early in the developing sympathoadrenal lineage
In the developing porcine fetus, immunohistochemistry showed chromogranin A is processed to generate WE-14 early in the sympathoadrenal cell lineage: weak WE-14 staining appeared in migrating neuroblasts and chromaffinoblasts, became intense in central medullary cells by mid-gestation, then settled to uniform weak staining with intense clusters after birth — mapping when and where CgA is cleaved to WE-14 during development (a preclinical result).
WE-14 modulates mast-cell histamine release
In rat peritoneal mast cells, WE-14 modulated histamine release, acting in synergy with a calcium ionophore — an early indication that this chromogranin-A peptide can influence mast-cell function and inflammatory mediator release (a cell study).
No Established Human Dose
WE-14 is an endogenous chromogranin-A-derived peptide that has never been given to people as a treatment. The human studies measure the body's own WE-14 as a marker or study it as an immune target, and the rest of the work is in animals and cells. No regulator has approved any dose, and no published human dose exists, so no amount is printed here.
What this rests on: PMID 12438141, PMID 26453556, PMID 24523932.
Educational information, not medical advice. The doses on this page come from approved labels, published studies and, where no study exists, amounts reported by users. None is a recommendation for you. An unapproved compound has no established safe or effective human dose, and products sold for “research use only” are not made or tested for people. Talk to a doctor before acting on anything on this site, including before you start, stop or change any medicine or dose. Full medical disclaimer.
What a Buyer Needs to Know
What is sold, how it is mixed, stored and taken, and what is known about its safety, quality and legal status. Each part names its source. Where we have none, it says unknown.
What is sold
Unknown: we hold no label and no published test that says what forms or vial sizes WE-14 is sold in. A vial's own label is a seller's claim, not a source.
Mixing a vial: a worked example
Unknown: no human dose of WE-14 has been established (see No Established Human Dose below), so there is no amount to work out. The reconstitution calculator does the arithmetic for any vial, water and dose.
Storage before and after mixing
Unknown: no label or published stability study on file says how to store WE-14, before or after mixing. The mixing guide sets out the general rules, with their sources: keep a mixed vial in the fridge, and use it promptly, as the bacteriostatic water label says of any drug dissolved in it. The 28 days often quoted is the limit for an opened multiple-dose vial from a manufacturer, an outer limit set for sterility, not a time a mixed solution has been shown to keep. Nobody has published how long WE-14 stays intact once mixed.
How it is taken
Unknown: with no established human dose, there is no established way of taking WE-14. What the human studies gave and how is set out under No Established Human Dose.
What to expect, and when
How long it stays in the body: a half-life of not established for humans as a drug; an endogenous granin peptide. After about five half-lives almost none is left.
When effects appear: unknown; no source on this page gives a time to effect for WE-14. Results reported in the studies are under Published Research.
Source: half-life: PMID 12438141.
Side effects, and when to stop or get help
From the Side Effects section: No human adverse-event data exist: no published study has administered WE-14 to people; WE-14 is a target of autoimmunity in type 1 diabetes (a disease mechanism, not a treatment), recognised by diabetogenic T cells in mice and patients (PMID 26453556); The human study measures plasma WE-14 as a pheochromocytoma marker (PMID 24523932); Material sold online as 'WE-14' is an unregulated research chemical of unverified content. Full list and cautions ↓
When to stop or get help: unknown; no label or trial on file sets rules for stopping WE-14. Treat a severe or unexpected reaction as a reason to stop and see a doctor.
Source: the Side Effects section below (“WE-14 is a research peptide and marker that has not been given to people as a drug, so there is no human safety profile; the points below reflect that research status”).
Interactions
Unknown: a PubMed search for human interaction studies of WE-14 (reviewed 2026-11-06) found none. Unknown is not the same as safe to combine.
Every peptide's record, with its source: the interaction matrix.
Checking what you bought
Unknown: no published independent test of WE-14 products is in our lab-results database yet, so how products sold under this name measure up is not known.
To read a certificate of analysis, paste it into the COA decoder. Trust & Verification explains what independent testing can and cannot show.
Legal status
US: Research Chemical (Not a drug: Drugs@FDA and the openFDA label endpoint hold no record, and FDA GSRS and ChEMBL hold no substance record for WE-14 (searched November 6, 2026)). Sport: Not on the 2026 List.
Country by country ↓ · Regulatory tracker
Source: this entry's approval status and the WADA Prohibited List, as in Legal Status below.
Side Effects & Contraindications
Reported Side Effects
WE-14 is a research peptide and marker that has not been given to people as a drug, so there is no human safety profile; the points below reflect that research status.
Contraindications & Cautions
WE-14 has no approved use and no label. These points reflect its research status.
Legal Status
WE-14 is an endogenous chromogranin-A-derived peptide studied as a research compound, an autoimmune target and a diagnostic marker; it is not a drug and is not approved in any country.
Frequently Asked Questions
?What is WE-14?
A 14-amino-acid peptide cut from chromogranin A (residues 324-337), named for the tryptophan (W) and glutamate (E) at its ends. It is made in a subset of chromogranin-A cells in the adrenal, pituitary, parathyroid and stomach.
?Why does it matter in type 1 diabetes?
WE-14 is a natural target of the immune cells that destroy insulin-making beta cells. In the NOD mouse and in newly diagnosed patients it is recognised by diabetogenic CD4 T cells, and a chemical change to its front end makes it a far stronger trigger (PMID 26453556). This is a disease mechanism, not a treatment.
?What else is it used for?
As a blood marker: plasma WE-14 rises in pheochromocytoma and, combined with chromogranin A and EM66, improves the diagnosis of neuroendocrine tumours (PMID 24523932).
?Is it approved or available to buy?
No. WE-14 is not a medicine, has no FDA application or label, and is approved nowhere; it is studied as a research peptide, an autoimmune target and a diagnostic marker. Material sold online as WE-14 is an unregulated research chemical. Grey Peptides lists no sellers and recommends no source; this page records the published science.
References
- [review] Curry WJ, et al. "WE-14, a chromogranin a-derived neuropeptide." Ann N Y Acad Sci, 2002;971:311-6. PMID: 12438141.
- [mechanism] Jin N, et al. "N-terminal additions to the WE14 peptide of chromogranin A create strong autoantigen agonists in type 1 diabetes." Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2015;112(43):13318-23. PMID: 26453556.
- [clinical-trial] Guillemot J, et al. "Characterization and plasma measurement of the WE-14 peptide in patients with pheochromocytoma." PLoS One, 2014;9(2):e88698. PMID: 24523932.
- [animal] Norlén P, et al. "Expression of the chromogranin A-derived peptides pancreastatin and WE14 in rat stomach ECL cells." Regul Pept, 1997;70(2-3):121-33. PMID: 9272624.
- [animal] Barkatullah SC, et al. "Immunohistochemical localization of WE-14 in the developing porcine sympathoadrenal cell lineage." Histochem Cell Biol, 2001;116(3):255-62. PMID: 11685555.
- [mechanism] Forsythe P, et al. "The modulatory effects of WE-14 on histamine release from rat peritoneal mast cells." Inflamm Res, 1997;46(Suppl 1):13-4. PMID: 27517980.
- [other] UniProt P10645 (chromogranin-A, CHGA gene), read November 6, 2026: WE-14 is a 14-amino-acid peptide generated by proteolytic processing of chromogranin A (human CgA residues 324-337), named for its N-terminal tryptophan (W) and glutamate (E); the same precursor yields catestatin, pancreastatin, serpinin, vasostatin and chromofungin. https://www.uniprot.org/uniprotkb/P10645/entry
- [other] WE-14 was named and characterised as a chromogranin A-derived neuropeptide generated in a distinct subpopulation of CgA cells; its 14-residue structure, its tissue distribution, its role as a type 1 diabetes autoantigen and its use as a neuroendocrine-tumour marker are from the studies carded on this page (read November 6, 2026).
- [other] US FDA, Drugs@FDA and the drug label endpoint (openFDA), searched November 6, 2026: no application and no label record for WE-14. It is an endogenous chromogranin-A-derived peptide, not a registered drug; FDA GSRS and ChEMBL hold no substance record for it.
Sources & Citations
The six studies carded above were read from their PubMed records on November 6, 2026. Identity comes from UniProt (P10645, chromogranin-A): WE-14 is CgA(324-337), a 14-residue peptide. Its generation in a distinct CgA-cell subpopulation, its role as a type 1 diabetes CD4+ T-cell autoantigen strengthened by N-terminal modification, its use as a plasma pheochromocytoma/neuroendocrine-tumour marker, and its mast-cell and developmental expression are from the studies carded on this page; the absence of US approval and of a drug substance record from Drugs@FDA, openFDA, FDA GSRS and ChEMBL was checked the same day. Grey Peptides sells nothing and links to no vendor.
Medical Disclaimer: This content is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, and nothing here is an instruction to obtain or use any compound. Talk to a licensed clinician about your own situation.