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KPV Reviews
Where the numbered notes lead

Every KPV peptide claim has a source below

The list includes animal studies, lab-cell work, review papers, and FDA notices. Each link lets you check the original source.

Return to the findingsRead the bowel sources

Each numbered note leads to its paper or FDA notice

Where do the KPV facts come from? Each numbered note beside a claim matches one entry below. PubMed is a public library of medical papers. A DOI is a lasting address for one paper on the internet. Either link takes you toward the source. Claims can change as they pass between websites. The original paper shows whether researchers used animals, people, or lab cells. It also shows what changed and what did not.

The list keeps direct KPV studies apart from related work

The list covers 2000-2024. Early papers used lab cells and mice with colitis [1][2]. Others compared KPV with the full hormone [4], followed rabbit eye wounds [6], and studied how bowel cells stay joined [9][12]. Later teams sent KPV to sore mouse colons in soft gels or small carriers [5][11]. One mouse study examined tumors tied to lasting colitis [10]. Reviews found that related hormone pieces may reduce parts of the swelling response [3][7][13]. Separate work tested such pieces against the aids virus [14] and a yeast infection in mice [16], not KPV bowel care. In 2024, KPV plus a drug that calmed immune defenses helped mice more than either drug alone [15].

  1. Dalmasso G, Charrier-Hisamuddin L, Nguyen HT, Yan Y, Sitaraman S, Merlin D. PepT1-mediated tripeptide KPV uptake reduces intestinal inflammation. Gastroenterology. 2008;134(1):166-178. ↗
  2. Kannengiesser K, Maaser C, Heidemann J, et al. Melanocortin-derived tripeptide KPV has anti-inflammatory potential in murine models of inflammatory bowel disease. Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2008;14(3):324-331. ↗
  3. Brzoska T, Luger TA, Maaser C, Abels C, Bohm 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;29(5):581-602. ↗
  4. Getting SJ, Schiöth HB, Perretti M. Dissection of the anti-inflammatory effect of the core and C-terminal (KPV) alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone peptides. J Pharmacol Exp Ther. 2003;306(2):631-637. ↗
  5. Xiao B, Xu Z, Viennois E, et al. Orally Targeted Delivery of Tripeptide KPV via Hyaluronic Acid-Functionalized Nanoparticles Efficiently Alleviates Ulcerative Colitis. Mol Ther. 2017;25(7):1628-1640. ↗
  6. 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;83(6):1366-1372. ↗
  7. Spana C, Taylor AW, Yee DG, Makhlina M, Yang W, Dodd J. The Melanocortin System in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases: Insights into Its Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potentials. Cells. 2023;12(14):1889. ↗
  8. Catania A, Cutuli M, Garofalo L, et al. New insights into the functions of alpha-MSH and related peptides in the immune system. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2003;994:133-140. ↗
  9. Xiao W, et al. Alpha-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone Protects against Cytokine-Induced Barrier Damage in Caco-2 Intestinal Epithelial Monolayers. PLoS One. 2017;12(1):e0170537. ↗
  10. Viennois E, Ingersoll SA, Ayyadurai S, et al. Critical Role of PepT1 in Promoting Colitis-Associated Cancer and Therapeutic Benefits of the Anti-inflammatory PepT1-Mediated Tripeptide KPV in a Murine Model. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2016;2(3):340-357. ↗
  11. Laroui H, Dalmasso G, Nguyen HT, Yan Y, Sitaraman SV, Merlin D. Drug-loaded nanoparticles targeted to the colon with polysaccharide hydrogel reduce colitis in a mouse model. Gastroenterology. 2010;138(3):843-853. ↗
  12. Bettenworth D, Buyse M, Bohm M, et al. The tripeptide KdPT protects from intestinal inflammation and maintains intestinal barrier function. Am J Pathol. 2011;179(3):1230-1242. ↗
  13. Catania A, Cutuli M, Garofalo L, et al. New insights into the functions of alpha-MSH and related peptides in the immune system. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2003;994:133-140. ↗
  14. Barcellini W, Colombo G, La Maestra L, et al. Alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone peptides inhibit HIV-1 expression in chronically infected promonocytic U1 cells and in acutely infected monocytes. J Leukoc Biol. 2000;68(5):693-699. ↗
  15. Zhang D, et al. PepT1-targeted nanodrug based on co-assembly of anti-inflammatory peptide and immunosuppressant for combination treatment of acute and chronic DSS-induced colitis. Front Pharmacol. 2024;15:1442876. ↗
  16. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Bulk Drug Substances Used in Compounding Under Section 503A of the FD&C Act. (The bulks-list / nomination framework: a bulk drug substance may be used in 503A compounding only if it has an applicable USP/NF monograph, is a component of an FDA-approved drug, or is on the 503A bulks list; substances not yet listed are evaluated through a public nomination process informed by the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee. None of the peptides under evaluation is an FDA-approved drug.) Verified 2026-05-29. ↗
  17. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. July 23-24, 2026: Meeting of the Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee. Public calendar individually listing KPV (free base and acetate), with BPC-157, TB-500, and MOTs-C, as bulk drug substances 'being considered for inclusion on the 503A Bulks List' — a scheduled discussion of substances under evaluation, not a listing decision or an outcome. Verified 2026-05-29. ↗