KPV Lys-Pro-Val

What is KPV?

KPV is the last three amino acids of alpha-MSH, a 13-residue hormone cut from the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) precursor. Researchers in the 1980s found that this C-terminal fragment carried much of alpha-MSH’s anti-inflammatory and antipyretic activity on its own, and later work proposed it as an alternative to the full hormone because it does not share alpha-MSH’s pigmentary action.

How KPV works is still not settled. In mouse peritonitis it reduced neutrophil accumulation even when melanocortin receptors were blocked or non-functional, and it did not raise cAMP in macrophages the way alpha-MSH does, so the authors concluded it probably does not act through the melanocortin receptors at all. In intestinal cells it is taken up by PepT1, the di- and tripeptide transporter, and inhibits NF-κB and MAP-kinase signalling.

KPV identity

In native alpha-MSH the final valine is amidated; KPV as registered in PubChem and by FDA is the free acid. Some studies used capped analogues such as Ac-KPV-NH₂, so check which form a paper tested.

Certificate for the current lot

The current KPV lot, 202608KPV10, was analysed by HYTE Research Division on 27 August 2026. The certificate reports HPLC purity and measured content, as transcribed below:

The same certificate reports identity confirmed by HPLC-DAD, heavy metals not detected, no growth on sterility testing and endotoxin below 0.5 EU/mL. Measured content was 12.94 mg against a 10 mg label.

Published research on KPV

All published KPV research is in cells and rodents, much of it in mouse models of colitis. PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov list no human studies, and FDA’s 2026 evaluation found none.

• Anti-inflammatory activity (mice, 1989). Alpha-MSH(11-13) inhibited picryl chloride-induced ear swelling in a dose-related way. Antiinflammatory activity of a COOH-terminal fragment of the neuropeptide alpha-MSH. Hiltz ME, et al. FASEB Journal, 1989.
• Not through melanocortin receptors (mice, 2003). KPV reduced neutrophil accumulation in peritonitis models, an effect not blocked by an MC3/4 antagonist and still present in mice without functional MC1R. Dissection of the anti-inflammatory effect of the core and C-terminal (KPV) alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone peptides. Getting SJ, et al. Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, 2003.
• PepT1 uptake and colitis (cells and mice, 2008). At nanomolar concentrations KPV inhibited NF-κB and MAP-kinase signalling and cytokine secretion in intestinal and T-cell lines, entered cells through PepT1, and given orally reduced DSS- and TNBS-induced colitis in mice. PepT1-mediated tripeptide KPV uptake reduces intestinal inflammation. Dalmasso G, et al. Gastroenterology, 2008.
• Colitis models, MC1R-independent (mice, 2008). KPV-treated mice recovered earlier from DSS and T-cell-transfer colitis; in MC1R-deficient mice the effect persisted. Melanocortin-derived tripeptide KPV has anti-inflammatory potential in murine models of inflammatory bowel disease. Kannengiesser K, et al. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 2008.
• Nanoparticle delivery (mice, 2010 and 2017). KPV loaded into colon-targeted nanoparticles in a polysaccharide hydrogel protected DSS-treated mice at a concentration about 12,000-fold lower than free KPV; hyaluronic-acid-functionalised particles improved targeting further. Laroui H, et al. Gastroenterology, 2010; Xiao B, et al. Molecular Therapy, 2017.
• Review (2008). Alpha-MSH and its related tripeptides, including KPV and KdPT, in inflammation research. 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. Brzoska T, et al. Endocrine Reviews, 2008.

Regulatory status

KPV is not an approved drug. FDA placed it in its compounding safety-risk category in September 2023; the category page now lists it among nominated-but-withdrawn substances and states that FDA has found no human exposure data. At its July 2026 Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee meeting FDA proposed not adding KPV to the 503A bulks list; press reports say the committee voted 8–6 in favour of adding it, a non-binding recommendation. FDA compounding safety-risk list. Clean Peptide’s KPV is a laboratory reference material only.

Related research

• KLOW: KPV blended with GHK-Cu, BPC-157 and TB-500.
• Melanotan II and PT-141: cyclic alpha-MSH analogues that do act on melanocortin receptors.
• BPC-157 and Thymosin Alpha-1: other peptides in inflammation and repair research.
• How to read a peptide certificate of analysis.