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An overview of the published in-vitro and animal-model literature on GHK-Cu in skin and extracellular-matrix biology.
GHK-Cu is a naturally occurring tripeptide-copper complex (Gly-His-Lys-Cu²⁺) characterised by Pickart and colleagues in the 1970s. It has been the subject of substantial in-vitro and animal-model research in the context of skin biology and extracellular-matrix turnover.
The copper-binding tripeptide forms a 1:1 complex with Cu²⁺ at physiological pH. The molecular formula is C₁₄H₂₂CuN₆O₄, MW 402.91. The copper coordination geometry is well characterised by spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography in the published literature.
Cell-culture preparations using dermal fibroblasts have examined gene-expression changes associated with collagen synthesis, glycosaminoglycan synthesis, and matrix metalloproteinase regulation in the presence of GHK-Cu.
A subset of the published research uses rodent and porcine animal models to characterise the response of skin preparations to topical or subcutaneous administration of GHK-Cu in tightly controlled laboratory conditions.
In-vitro work has explored GHK-Cu in models of oxidative stress, including studies of superoxide dismutase activity and lipid-peroxidation markers in cell-culture preparations.
Pickart L., Margolina A. · Regenerative and Protective Actions of the GHK-Cu Peptide in the Light of the New Gene Data · International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2018 · doi:10.3390/ijms19071987
Maquart F. X. et al. · Stimulation of collagen synthesis in fibroblast cultures by the tripeptide-copper complex glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine-Cu²⁺ · FEBS Letters, 1988 · doi:10.1016/0014-5793(88)80843-6
Pickart L. · The human tri-peptide GHK and tissue remodeling · Journal of Biomaterials Science, Polymer Edition, 2008 · doi:10.1163/156856208784909435
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