KPV
Immunological Research
Available sizes: 10 mg
The C-terminal fragment of α-MSH
KPV is Lys-Pro-Val, the final three residues of alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone. Fragment studies of α-MSH established that anti-inflammatory activity survives truncation down to this tripeptide, while the melanocortin receptor binding responsible for pigmentation does not.
A three-residue peptide is also cheap to synthesise, stable, and small enough to enter cells — practical properties that matter as much to its adoption as the pharmacology.
What the research examines
NF-κB signalling. The most reported mechanism: interference with a transcription factor central to inflammatory gene expression.
Intestinal models. A substantial body of work in experimental colitis, where it is often delivered directly to the tissue.
Cytokine profiles. Changes in TNF-α, IL-1β and related mediators as measured endpoints.
Peptide transporter uptake. Entry via PepT1, which is expressed in intestinal epithelium and upregulated in inflamed tissue.
Antimicrobial activity, reported against several organisms and inherited from the parent hormone.
Why the fragment rather than the hormone
Using KPV instead of α-MSH is a deliberate act of experimental control. It removes melanocortin receptor activity from the system, so an observed change in inflammatory markers cannot be attributed to receptor signalling elsewhere. The fragment is a cleaner instrument than the hormone.
Read alongside
Melanotan II is the receptor-active α-MSH analogue and the obvious contrast. LL-37 and Thymosin Alpha-1 cover the antimicrobial and adaptive-immune sides of this category. KPV is a constituent of the KLOW Stack.
Documentation and verification
Certificates of Analysis are published for tested products and batches. A certificate is a batch-specific record: it reports what was measured, by which method, on a stated date, against a batch identifier. It is evidence about the sample analysed at the time of analysis, and it is silent on attributes it does not list and on what has happened to the material since.
The batch number is the field that connects the document to a physical vial. Where the identifier on a vial does not appear on a certificate, the certificate does not describe that vial, however thorough the analysis behind it was. Batch records can be searched directly, and the guides below explain what each field establishes and what it does not.
- Verify a batchSearch a batch number for the certificate records published against it.
- How to read a certificate of analysisWhat each field reports, and the limits of what a certificate can establish.
- Certificate, specification and safety data sheetThree documents that answer three different questions.
- Storage and handlingWhat defined storage conditions mean, and why cold slows degradation.
- Batch numbers and traceabilityHow an identifier ties material to the analysis describing it.
Supplied for laboratory research use only. Not for human or veterinary use.