KPV Dosage

KPV is a tripeptide (lysine – proline – valine) obtained from the alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (Alpha-MSH). This natural neuroregulatory peptide is known for its anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. In different forms of the application, it can be useful for treating various states based on inflammation. If used in topical cream form, it can potentially prevent further development of eczema, psoriasis and acne. The oral application could be significant in treating inflammatory diseases of hoses such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease and inflammatory intestine syndrome. Injection use manifests overall anti-inflammatory effects. According to various studies, KPV could potentially accelerate wound healing and reduce the possibility of scarring after surgery. This peptide expresses all the mentioned effects modified and significantly improved in relation to the original molecule.

Dosage Chart

Timeline	1-3 week	Maintenance Dose
Anti-inflammatory condition treatment protocol	250 mcg capsules    (Once per day)	500 mcg capsules (Once per day)

About the Peptide

Alfa-Melanocyte Stimulative hormone is the original natural molecule, with KPV as the derivative. Its crucial function is anti-inflammatory potential, achieved in several different ways. One of them is through melanocortine receptors (MC-R), localized on different central and peripheral nervous system cells.

Even if this property can be used in treating various diseases, Alfa MSH has been avoided for increasing melanin secretion, potentially causing skin cancer. However, KPV is the least active form in melanin production, reducing this risk significantly. Modifying chemical construction improves anti-inflammatory and other positive effects, but also reduces unwanted actions. The anti-inflammatory effect could be used in treating some skin conditions such as psoriasis, acne, and eczema. Many scientific studies assume that KPV can reduce the cytokines expression, and the activity of many inflammatory cells, reducing hypercheralatosis. In addition, angiogenesis (the process of creating new blood vessels) maintains the inflammation active and emphasizes it. Prevention of further angiogenesis is another mechanism of action.
The main property may be helpful in treating digestive problems (inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, and others). Based on a similar mechanism of action (reducing the production of TNF alpha and pro-inflammatory cytokines), KPV can accelerate the healing of wounds, localized on mucosa, restore epithelial cells, and thus alleviate symptoms such as diarrhea and severe pain.

In addition to the above properties, the peptide has the ability to modulate the immune response, accelerating regeneration mechanisms. Therefore, wounds after surgery heal faster without scarring. The peptide could also achieve antimicrobial activity and improve antifungal response, reducing the risk of wound infection. This property is also achieved by enhancing collagen synthesis, which results in rapid recovery.

List of Uses

Anti-inflammatory Effect

This peptide's main property is its anti-inflammatory function. It can be achieved in many ways, but most often, the peptide gets intracellularly and inactivates inflammatory pathways. Knowing that the inflammatory process is driven by signaling molecules, such as inflammatory mediators and proinflammatory cytokines, the peptide could directly enter the cell and react with these compounds, inactivating them. This process takes place in the cell nucleus without any destruction of organelles and other structures.

This property can be very useful in treating various conditions, where the most important are inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn's disease and Ulcerative colitis. They manifest by the formation of wounds on the intestinal mucosa or other parts of the gastrointestinal tract (in Crohn's), giving symptoms of severe abdominal pain and diarrhea. KPV in such patients can interact with immune cells, modulate the immune response, prevent further secretion of proinflammatory cytokines, thus reducing the inflammatory focus. In addition to these diseases, it can also be important in the therapy of Irritable Bowel Syndrome when it modulates the body's immune response.

KPV may modulate and inactivate inflammatory pathways by activating NF-κB cells and by expressing numerous adhesion molecules, but also through chemokine receptors, T-cell proliferation and activity, and inflammatory cell migration.

This function may be crucial in treating skin diseases such as eczema or psoriasis, where inflammation is the underlying medical process. According to studies conducted on humans, it is concluded that KPV administration reduced hyperkeratotic lesions, their size, and intensity. The effect is achieved similarly with the addition of inhibiting angiogenesis. This is the process of creating new blood vessels, promoting inflammation, and slowing down the healing process.

Faster Wound Healing and Tissue Regeneration

A wound represents a continuity break of the skin or mucous membrane. In addition to limiting the patient's recovery, it is a dangerous focus because it can become an infected area and even lead to a septic state or death. Many beneficial effects of KPV come into play when it comes to wound healing. First, the influence on collagen metabolism leads to a lower chance of creating a scar or even a keloid. In addition, the anti-inflammatory mechanism leads to faster wound healing by regeneration (the space is filled with functional tissue and not ordinary connective tissue). The function above can be crucial in treating burns that affect a large surface area because it prevents infection due to its basic effect. KPV also has antimicrobial properties and improves the fungal response, protecting the patient from complications. Due to modulations in the chemical structure, the application of KPV has a much lower risk of developing melanoma, freckles, and dysplastic mole changes, which MSH otherwise has.

Antimicrobial Property

The antimicrobial potential of this peptide has proven to be useful both in specific conditions and everyday life. Microbes are all microcellular organisms designated as pathogens (harmful to our bodies). Administration of KPV protects us from developing various bacterial, viral, and fungal infections (especially Staphylococcus aureus). They modulate the immune response, helping the first line of defense (macrophages) to eliminate the enemy at the first contact with them. In addition to protecting us from the development of inflammation and improving the quality of life, this property is crucial when the development of infection shouldn't happen under any condition. This is the case in long-term surgeries, healing of open wounds, or immunocompromised patients (HIV-positive or patients without a spleen). The mechanism of action has been explained previously and is attributed to inhibiting the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines and improved secretion of anti-inflammatory molecules.

Dosage Calculator

The dosage depends on the indication but is generally well-established. KPV is available as a topical cream that can potentially be used to treat psoriasis, eczema, or acne. It can be purchased as capsules when taken orally and dissolved in the stomach. Such use is more common in patients diagnosed with intestines and digestive tract diseases, while subcutaneous injections remain the choice of application for achieving a comprehensive anti-inflammatory effect.

One of the protocols for achieving an anti-inflammatory effect involves a dose of 250 mcg in a capsule for the first three weeks, and then the maintenance dose is 500mcg. The capsule is consumed once a day, best after a meal. The dosage should never be exceeded or changed independently without the approval of a doctor. Otherwise serious side effects may occur.

Conclusion

According to current scientific research, KPV as a derivative of alpha MSH represents a highly beneficial peptide that is potentially useful in treating various diseases. The main effect is reflected in anti-inflammatory properties, which are useful in treating skin conditions and intestinal diseases. In addition, this peptide has antimicrobial potential and accelerates wound healing.

If used at the optimal dose, under the supervision of a doctor, it could be very useful. KPV will certainly be the subject of research in the future.

References:

1. Dalmasso G, Charrier-Hisamuddin L, Nguyen HT, Yan Y, Sitaraman S, Merlin D. PepT1-mediated tripeptide KPV uptake reduces intestinal inflammation. Gastroenterology. 2008 Jan;134(1):166-78. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18061177/
2. Dalmasso, G., Charrier-Hisamuddin, L., Nguyen, H. T., Yan, Y., Sitaraman, S., & Merlin, D. (2008). PepT1-mediated tripeptide KPV uptake reduces intestinal inflammation. Gastroenterology, 134(1), 166–178. https://doi.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2007.10.026
3. Kannengiesser K, Maaser C, Heidemann J, Luegering A, Ross M, Brzoska T, Bohm M, Luger TA, Domschke W, Kucharzik T. Melanocortin-derived tripeptide KPV has anti-inflammatory potential in murine models of inflammatory bowel disease. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2008 Mar;14(3):324-31. doi: 10.1002/ibd.20334. PMID: 18092346.
4. Bonfiglio V, Camillieri G, Avitabile T, Leggio GM, Drago F. Effects of the COOH-terminal tripeptide alpha-MSH(11-13) on corneal epithelial wound healing: role of nitric oxide. Exp Eye Res. 2006 Dec;83(6):1366-72. doi: 10.1016/j.exer.2006.07.014. Epub 2006 Sep 11. PMID: 16965771.
5. de Souza KS, Cantaruti TA, Azevedo GM Jr, Galdino DA, Rodrigues CM, Costa RA, Vaz NM, Carvalho CR. Improved cutaneous wound healing after intraperitoneal injection of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone. Exp Dermatol. 2015 Mar;24(3):198-203. doi: 10.1111/exd.12609. Epub 2015 Jan 12. PMID: 25431356.
6. Cutuli M, Cristiani S, Lipton JM, Catania A. Antimicrobial effects of alpha-MSH peptides. J Leukoc Biol. 2000 Feb;67(2):233-9. doi: 10.1002/jlb.67.2.233. PMID: 10670585.
7. Brzoska T, Luger TA, Maaser C, Abels C, Böhm M. Alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone and related tripeptides: biochemistry, antiinflammatory and protective effects in vitro and in vivo, and future perspectives for the treatment of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Endocr Rev. 2008 Aug;29(5):581-602. doi: 10.1210/er.2007-0027. Epub 2008 Jul 8. PMID: 18612139.
8. Xiao B, Xu Z, Viennois E, Zhang Y, Zhang Z, Zhang M, Han MK, Kang Y, Merlin D. Orally Targeted Delivery of Tripeptide KPV via Hyaluronic Acid-Functionalized Nanoparticles Efficiently Alleviates Ulcerative Colitis. Mol Ther. 2017 Jul 5;25(7):1628-1640. doi: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2016.11.020. Epub 2017 Jan 28. PMID: 28143741; PMCID: PMC5498804.