KPV

updated

KPV is the three-amino-acid tail of alpha-MSH, a natural hormone, studied as an anti-inflammatory; no FDA-approved version exists. It is promoted for gut inflammation such as IBD and for skin conditions, without alpha-MSH's tanning and appetite effects. In cells it blocks the inflammation signal NF-kB, and in several mouse colitis models reduced inflammation and weight loss, but its human evidence is a transport test on excised skin; no trial has given it to people. Graded B for consistent anti-inflammatory findings in cells and animals, with efficacy, route and safety unestablished in people.

alpha-MSH-derived tripeptide

  • Three-amino-acid peptide: Lys-Pro-Val
  • Mouse colitis studies used free peptide or engineered delivery systems
  • Human-skin paper tested laboratory permeation across excised tissue
  • No FDA-approved KPV drug

What exactly is KPV?

KPV is the tripeptide Lys-Pro-Val, corresponding to the C-terminal three residues of alpha-MSH. Free KPV, a salt, a nanoparticle cargo, and a seller’s finished product are not automatically equivalent interventions.

The sequence is short, but the formulation still matters. Several of the strongest animal papers solved delivery with nanoparticles, hydrogels, microporation, or iontophoresis. Those technologies are part of what was tested.

source: KPV · cells and mouse colitis, Dalmasso G et al. Gastroenterology, 2008.

source: FDA 2026 briefing · KPV evidence review, US Food and Drug Administration, July 2026.

Has KPV been tested as a treatment in people?

The cited PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov records include no exact administered-human KPV treatment study under the listed aliases. A study using excised human skin measured transport, not safety or clinical benefit in a living person.

Human cells and human tissue can answer mechanistic or delivery questions. They do not provide adverse-event rates, effective exposure, symptom outcomes, or interactions in patients.

Does the skin study prove a topical product works?

No. It combined microporation and electrical iontophoresis in an ex-vivo system. It did not test ordinary cream, intact living skin, inflammation, or a patient outcome.

source: Excised skin · permeation, not treatment, Pawar K et al. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2017.

source: Excised skin · permeation, not treatment

source: PubMed and registry · no exact administered-human study, ClinicalTrials.gov search for KPV peptide OR Lys-Pro-Val, with a PubMed search for the same terms, run on 8 September 2026.

source: FDA safety page · no human exposure data, US Food and Drug Administration.

What do the colitis studies show?

KPV reduced inflammatory findings in cell systems and mouse colitis models. Colon-targeted nanoparticles also worked in mice, but that result belongs to the full delivery system and cannot be assigned to a generic oral capsule.

The PepT1 work supports uptake and anti-inflammatory signaling in intestinal models. Other papers invoke melanocortin receptors, NF-kappa-B, or receptor-independent actions. The dominant human mechanism is not established.

Is KPV proven to treat inflammatory bowel disease?

KPV reduced inflammatory findings in induced mouse colitis, including studies that used targeted delivery systems. No controlled patient trial establishes that it treats inflammatory bowel disease.

source: KPV · cells and mouse colitis

source: KPV nanoparticles · mouse DSS colitis, Laroui H et al. Gastroenterology, 2010.

source: KPV · cells and mouse colitis

source: KPV nanoparticles · mouse DSS colitis

What is known about KPV side effects and safety?

There is no usable human adverse-event dataset for administered KPV. Immune effects, pregnancy, infection, allergy, interactions, repeated exposure, and route-specific toxicity remain unknown.

  • Anti-inflammatory activity: no human infection data show whether defense against pathogens remains intact.
  • Melanocortin assumptions: KPV is not proven free of pigment, appetite, endocrine, or off-target effects simply because it is shorter than alpha-MSH.
  • Compounded or seller products: identity, concentration, sterility, endotoxin, and degradation data are separate from peptide-sequence claims.

source: PubMed and registry · no exact administered-human study

source: FDA safety page · no human exposure data

Did the 2026 FDA review approve KPV?

No. FDA staff recommended against 503A bulks-list inclusion, and the advisory process did not create drug approval. The cited FDA records list no approved KPV product or dosing label.

A nomination, committee discussion, or vote is not evidence of efficacy and does not establish that a seller product may be marketed as a treatment.

source: FDA 2026 briefing · KPV evidence review

source: FDA safety page · no human exposure data

Has KPV been studied for cancer or eczema?

Only in mice or in review articles; no human study of either was found. In mice with chemically induced colitis-associated colon cancer, KPV prevented tumor formation, an effect that disappeared in mice lacking the PepT1 transporter that takes it up. For eczema, PubMed holds only reviews that propose KPV for inflammatory skin disease, based mainly on skin-inflammation studies of its parent hormone, alpha-MSH.

Searches run on October 24, 2026: PubMed for KPV or Lys-Pro-Val with cancer terms returned 14 records, none testing the KPV peptide in people; PubMed for KPV or Lys-Pro-Val with eczema or dermatitis returned 3 records, all reviews of alpha-MSH-related peptides; ClinicalTrials.gov for KPV or Lys-Pro-Val returned no records.

source: Mouse colitis-associated cancer, Viennois E et al. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2016;2(3):340-357. PMID 27458604.

source: Review · alpha-MSH and KPV, Brzoska T et al. Endocr Rev. 2008;29(5):581-602. PMID 18612139.

source: Search · no human study found, PubMed searches run on October 24, 2026: (KPV[tiab] OR "Lys-Pro-Val"[tiab] OR "lysine-proline-valine"[tiab]) AND (cancer[tiab] OR tumor[tiab] OR tumour[tiab] OR carcinoma[tiab] OR neoplasm*[tiab] OR tumorigenesis[tiab]), 14 records; (KPV[tiab] OR "Lys-Pro-Val"[tiab] OR "lysine-proline-valine"[tiab]) AND (eczema[tiab] OR "atopic dermatitis"[tiab] OR dermatitis[tiab]), 3 records. ClinicalTrials.gov search the same day for KPV OR "Lys-Pro-Val", 0 records.

What doses have human studies used?

These are doses that cited human studies or FDA labels used, in the people they studied; none is a recommendation or a protocol. No published human study on file reports a dose for this compound. The animal figures on file are not human doses.

source: PubMed and registry · no exact administered-human study

Studies and sources

KPV · cells and mouse colitis

Cell and animal study

Dalmasso G et al. Gastroenterology, 2008.

KPV was transported by the peptide transporter PepT1 in intestinal cell systems and reduced inflammatory signaling and experimental colitis findings in mice. The work supports a gut-delivery mechanism in models, not treatment efficacy in people.

Participants / model
Intestinal cell systems and mouse colitis models
Treatment
KPV under experimental conditions
Study design
Mechanistic cell work plus animal intervention
Read the original source
KPV nanoparticles · mouse DSS colitis

Animal drug-delivery study

Laroui H et al. Gastroenterology, 2010.

KPV loaded into a polysaccharide hydrogel and nanoparticle delivery system reduced disease measures in a mouse colitis model. The carrier, colon targeting, species, and induced-disease model are part of the intervention.

Participants / model
Mice with experimentally induced colitis
Treatment
KPV-loaded colon-targeted nanoparticles in hydrogel
Study design
Controlled animal formulation study

The result does not establish that free oral KPV survives and reaches the same target in people.

Read the original source
Excised skin · permeation, not treatment

Ex-vivo formulation study

Pawar K et al. Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2017.

Researchers measured KPV transport using iontophoresis across microporated human skin in a laboratory setup. The experiment addressed delivery feasibility and did not administer KPV to a person or measure a clinical skin outcome.

Participants / model
Excised human skin in a laboratory diffusion system
Treatment
Microporation plus iontophoresis of KPV
Study design
Ex-vivo permeation experiment

The experiment used excised tissue and did not administer KPV to a person.

Read the original source
FDA safety page · no human exposure data

FDA safety communication

US Food and Drug Administration.

FDA states that it had not identified human exposure data for drug products containing KPV by any route and lacked enough information to determine whether KPV would cause harm in humans.

Study design
Agency safety summary
Read the original source
FDA 2026 briefing · KPV evidence review

FDA staff briefing document

US Food and Drug Administration, July 2026.

FDA staff reviewed KPV identity, animal and formulation evidence, and the absence of adequate human safety and efficacy evidence, then recommended against adding KPV to the 503A bulks list. The advisory process did not approve KPV.

Study design
Regulatory evidence review
Read the original source
Mouse colitis-associated cancer

Animal study

Viennois E et al. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2016;2(3):340-357. PMID 27458604.

In mice with colitis-associated cancer induced by AOM/DSS, the PepT1-transported tripeptide KPV prevented carcinogenesis in wild-type mice and had no such effect in PepT1-knockout mice.

Participants / model
Mice
Read the original source
Review · alpha-MSH and KPV

Narrative review

Brzoska T et al. Endocr Rev. 2008;29(5):581-602. PMID 18612139.

Alpha-MSH reduced inflammation in animal models including irritant and allergic contact dermatitis; the review proposes its C-terminal tripeptide KPV for future treatment of immune-mediated inflammatory skin and bowel disease.

Read the original source

Why is KPV in B tier?

B reflects consistent anti-inflammatory findings in cell and animal models. No administered-human trial establishes efficacy, route, or safety for oral, injected, nasal, or topical products.

read KPV in the reptides guide, chapter 52: 10 pages, free to read.

how tiers are graded: methodology · every cited source · about reptides.

Research reference, not medical advice. Entries distinguish product labels, study doses and reported protocols. Check the linked source for the product, route and population.