APTX 4869

APTX 4869

APTX 4869 (四八六九 ,Yon-Hachi-Roku-Kyuu), nicknamed Prototype Detective, is a fictional toxin and derivative of an experimental formula of unknown purpose developed by Shiho Miyano, which is used by the Black Organization as an untraceable, lethal poison. Right now, there is a prototype antidote for it made by Shiho, namely Antidote (Prototype).

Description

APTX is an abbreviation of "Apoptoxin," and, as the name implies, it involves the activation of apoptosis: the mechanism by which cells kill themselves. APTX contains ingredients which have other functions as well. It contains a component which activates telomerase: an enzyme which lengthens the caps at the end of DNA whose length limits the number of times a cell can divide.

In practice, most of the time APTX 4869 works as a lethal poison. Gin says it can't be detected when used, possibly indicating it leaves few traces that forensic examination could uncover. However, in very rare cases, it causes the apoptosis of non-neural cells only and the apoptosis stabilizes at some point, causing the victim's apparent age to be decreased while leaving higher thought processes, memory, and personality unaltered. Shinichi, the series' protagonist, is such a victim; later Shiho Miyano, who chooses to attempt suicide by using her own drug, was added to the known people to have survived after taking APTX 4869 throughout the series.

Name origin

APTX 4869 is a pun on "Sherlock Holmes". 4869 can also be pronounced "Shi-Ha-Ro-Ku", which translates into Sherlock. Adding to the pun, the password for the APTX data is "Shellingford", an unintentional misspelling of "Sherrinford", which was the name Arthur Conan Doyle called his detective character before deciding on "Sherlock". The password and the pun name seem to be related to why several members of the Black Organization call APTX 4869 the "incomplete detective", implying APTX 4869 is not finished yet.

Reversing the effects

Gin poisons Shinichi.

Throughout the series there are several instances in which the APTX was temporarily neutralized and Shinichi and Shiho were returned to their actual age forms. The main ingredient for this reversal is a component found in baijiu, which Haibara has already incorporated in a prototype antidote for the APTX.

It is to note that in the instances where Shinichi or Shiho were successfully changed back, the recipient was suffering from a common cold while the component was ingested, indicating that the immune system somehow has to be taxed for the antidote to work. While not canon, Crossroad in the Ancient Capital uses this idea as Conan is given a pill to give him the symptoms of a cold, while drinking baijiu.

Conan and Haibara briefly reverted to their true age while having rum cake (thought to contain among other things baijiu) in the live action drama Shinichi Kudo Returns! Confrontation with the Black Organization.

Speculation about the original intent

At first, it was revealed by Gin that the APTX 4869 was a poison to kill people who know too much about the Black Organization. He used Shinichi as a guinea pig. Shiho Miyano said that she didn't intend to create a poison, which suggests that APTX 4869 was originally developed with a different goal in mind. It probably was just a useful side effect that the current prototype kills while leaving no trace in the victim’s body, and was thus employed as a poison - a usage which Haibara detests. Additionally, APTX 4869 is nicknamed the "incomplete detective" by the Black Organization, which means its true purpose has not yet been achieved. In a flashback on the Bell Tree Express, it is revealed her parents (before they died) were working on a "dream drug" they called the Silver Bullet, which seems to be the same drug as APTX4869. When the flashback ends, Haibara expresses her resentment that the drug was something that should have never been made.

Immortality/anti-aging

One possibility is that the goal of the APTX 4869 is to develop a therapy which will cause immortality, stall or reverse the effects of aging, or extend a human's lifespan. The de-aging effect that occurred when Shinichi and Haibara took APTX 4869 probably indicates the main intent of the drug's development. After Pisco saw Haibara shrink back to her child form, he commented that he was impressed she had developed the drug to that point, implying that deaging is in the right direction. Supporting this is Haibara’s line, "Kudo-kun? You would probably never even dream that you are already part of a project the Black Organization has been working on already for half a century." APTX 4869 is the only known intersection between Shinichi and the Black Organization; meaning that Shinichi's de-aging made him relevant to the Black Organization's project.

According to Haibara’s description about APTX 4869, APTX 4869 activates telomerase, an enzyme which can increase the number of times a cell can divide, and therefore affect a cell's lifespan and “reproductive potential”. The goal of this might be to revert all non-neural cells to a "youthful", high reproductive potential state. Vermouth's unnatural youth is another indicator that the Black Organization may be involved in research towards extending lifespan, halting aging, or rejuvenating the body.

The goal of the antagonists in Magic Kaito is pursuing immortality, via the Pandora Gem, but it is unclear whether if the organization in Magic Kaito is the same one as the Black Organization.

Raising the dead

The original purpose of APTX 4869 might be to raise the dead. Once when Conan asked Haibara directly what APTX 4869 was meant to do she replied, "It's a nostrum to raise the dead. I wonder if that answer is satisfactory?" The context of the comment, however, makes it unclear if she was merely bluffing to provoke Conan into revealing that he had been looking into the Black Organization behind her back, rather than making a serious statement of the purpose of the drug.