KPV

In plain terms

KPV is the final three amino acids of alpha-MSH. Despite its size it appears widely in research on how cells respond to inflammatory signals, including work in gut inflammation models.

Research overview

KPV is the three-amino-acid tail of alpha-MSH, a hormone the body produces. Laboratory research has focused on its anti-inflammatory activity — mouse models of colitis, the transporter that carries it into intestinal cells, and its effect on NF-kB signalling in cell studies. It is studied in gut-barrier research more than anywhere else.

What has been studied

1. 1

   Intestinal inflammation

   KPV is the tail end of alpha-MSH, a hormone the body already makes. Mouse models of colitis have been used to look at whether it reduces inflammation in the gut lining.

2. 2

   How it gets into cells

   Laboratory work has studied the transporter that carries KPV into intestinal cells, which is part of why it is studied in gut models specifically.

3. 3

   Inflammatory signalling

   Cell studies have measured its effect on NF-kB, one of the main switches controlling inflammatory gene activity.

4. 4

   Skin and wound models

   A smaller body of work has looked at topical application in laboratory skin models.

Research articles

• Dissection of the anti-inflammatory effect of the core and C-terminal (KPV) alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone peptidesThe Journal of pharmacology and experimental therapeutics · 2003
• Terminal signal: anti-inflammatory effects of α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone related peptides beyond the pharmacophoreAdvances in experimental medicine and biology · 2010
• The neuroimmunomodulatory peptide alpha-MSHAnnals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2000
• alpha-MSH related peptides: a new class of anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating drugsAnnals of the rheumatic diseases · 2007