# KPV peptide: The Anti-Inflammatory C-Terminal Tripeptide of alpha-MSH > KPV peptide is the C-terminal tripeptide (Lys-Pro-Val) of alpha-MSH, studied most in murine colitis for PepT1-mediated, NF-kB-suppressing anti-inflammatory action. A cited literature digest. Three amino acids cut from a larger hormone, holding its anti-inflammatory power and shedding its pigmentary action. A cited reading of what the published research has actually measured. ## The short version KPV peptide is a tiny molecule with one job in the research literature: turning down inflammation. It is three amino acids — lysine, proline, valine — clipped from the tail end of a larger hormone called alpha-MSH. That hormone normally does two things: it calms inflammation and it darkens skin. KPV keeps the calming part and drops the skin part. Almost all of the strongest studies are in cell cultures and mice, especially mice with an inflamed gut. There are no human clinical trials. This site reads that record, plainly and with sources. ## What Is KPV Peptide? KPV peptide is the linear tripeptide lysine-proline-valine (Lys-Pro-Val), corresponding to residues 11-13 — the C-terminal tail — of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH, an endogenous neuropeptide the body makes that both calms inflammation and drives skin pigmentation) [3]. Its defining feature across the literature is simple: it retains the parent hormone's anti-inflammatory activity while lacking the pigmentary (melanogenic, or skin-darkening) action [3]. That separation is what makes the fragment interesting to researchers. A comprehensive 2008 review delineates KPV as an anti-inflammatory alternative to the full alpha-MSH peptide precisely because it preserves the protective effect but loses the pigment-driving one [3]. The molecule itself is small — molecular formula C16H30N4O4, molecular weight 342.44 Da, CAS 67727-97-3 — and is sold by chemical suppliers for laboratory research use, not as an approved drug or supplement. This is an editorial digest. It reports what studies measured, in which species, at which doses, and it cites each quantitative claim. It does not provide medical advice and it does not sell anything. ## KPV: The C-Terminal Tripeptide of alpha-MSH KPV is the bare-compound name for the same molecule — the three-residue C-terminal sequence of alpha-MSH, often written alpha-MSH(11-13) [3]. Where the full hormone signals through melanocortin receptors to drive both anti-inflammatory and pigmentary effects, the isolated tripeptide behaves differently. In a mouse model of crystal-induced peritonitis, KPV reduced polymorphonuclear leukocyte accumulation but, unlike the core MSH peptides, did not suppress macrophage cytokine release — pointing to a mechanistically distinct, likely interleukin-1-beta-directed action rather than a simple receptor-agonist effect [4]. That distinction recurs in the gut literature, where KPV's anti-inflammatory effect is retained even in melanocortin-1-receptor-deficient mice — evidence that the fragment does not depend on that receptor to work [2]. KPV, in short, is alpha-MSH's anti-inflammatory message stripped to its shortest readable form. The deeper [published KPV research](/research) sits on /research; [common KPV questions](/faq) are answered on /faq. ## Lysine-Proline-Valine: Sequence and Structure Lysine-Proline-Valine is the full chemical name of the tripeptide: H-Lys-Pro-Val-OH, three amino acid residues joined by two peptide bonds. The sequence corresponds exactly to the last three residues of alpha-MSH, residues 11 through 13 [3]. PubChem catalogs it under CID 125672; its molecular formula is C16H30N4O4 and its molecular weight is 342.44 Da. The sequence matters for more than identity. As a small, unprotected tripeptide, free KPV is readily degraded by peptidases in the gut and serum, which is why much of the recent work wraps it in nanoparticles and hydrogels to keep it intact long enough to act [5][15]. The same small size, though, is what lets a specific intestinal transporter carry it directly into gut-lining cells — the mechanism explored under [KPV and gut inflammation](/gut-inflammation). ## Researched Benefits of KPV Peptide The researched benefits of KPV peptide cluster around inflammation, and the gut is where the evidence is deepest. In human intestinal epithelial cells and immune cells, nanomolar KPV (about 10 nM) reduced NF-kB and MAP-kinase activation — two signaling systems that switch on inflammatory genes — and lowered pro-inflammatory cytokine secretion [1]. Carried into the body of an animal, that translated to less disease: oral KPV reduced the severity of chemically induced colitis in mice [1]. A second mouse study reinforced the point. KPV-treated mice in a dextran-sulfate colitis model recovered earlier, regained body weight more strongly, and showed reduced colonic inflammatory infiltrate and lower myeloperoxidase activity (a neutrophil enzyme used as a tissue marker of inflammation) [2]. The effect held in melanocortin-1-receptor-deficient mice, indicating it did not require that receptor [2]. Beyond the gut, the same anti-inflammatory and repair signature appears in other tissues. Topical KPV accelerated corneal wound healing in rabbits: by 60 hours, eight of eight KPV-treated corneas were completely re-epithelialized versus none of the placebo-treated corneas [6]. Every one of these is a preclinical finding — cells and animals, not people. There are no human efficacy data, a gap this site marks plainly rather than papering over. ## Common questions about KPV peptide Short answers to the questions readers ask first. The fuller set lives on [common KPV questions](/faq). ### What is KPV peptide? KPV peptide is the linear tripeptide lysine-proline-valine (Lys-Pro-Val), corresponding to the C-terminal residues 11-13 of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH), studied as an anti-inflammatory research peptide [3]. It retains the parent hormone's anti-inflammatory activity while lacking its pigmentary action [3]. ### What does KPV peptide do? In research models KPV dampens inflammation, primarily by suppressing NF-kB and MAP-kinase signaling and reducing pro-inflammatory cytokine production [1]. It does this without the skin-darkening (pigmentary) action of the parent hormone alpha-MSH [3]. ### What is KPV peptide used for? In research, KPV is studied mainly as an anti-inflammatory tripeptide, most heavily in murine models of colitis and inflammatory bowel disease [1][2], with additional work in corneal wound healing [6]. All of this is laboratory and animal work, not human clinical use. ### What is KPV peptide good for? Preclinical literature explores KPV for dampening intestinal inflammation [1], supporting epithelial barrier integrity [9], and aiding tissue repair such as corneal re-epithelialization [6]. All evidence is in vitro and animal, not human clinical, so no consumer benefit is established. ### What are the benefits of KPV peptide? Documented research effects include reduced NF-kB and MAP-kinase inflammatory signaling and lower pro-inflammatory cytokine output [1], reduced colitis severity and inflammatory infiltrate in mice [1][2], and accelerated corneal re-epithelialization in rabbits [6]. These are preclinical findings, not proven human benefits. ### What is KPV used for? KPV is used in laboratory research as a melanocortin-derived anti-inflammatory peptide, chiefly to study gut inflammation, immune signaling, and tissue repair [3]. It is the C-terminal fragment of alpha-MSH and is investigated as an anti-inflammatory alternative that lacks the hormone's pigmentary action [3]. --- A cathedral-quiet reading of the KPV tripeptide record — the colitis findings inscribed where the studies confirm them, the empty human-trial pane left openly unfilled, and the FDA 503A standing carved from the source; no clinic behind the nave and nothing here dispensed or sold.