Host-defense peptides are short peptides that take part in innate immunity and mucosal barriers. Three Artemis compounds appear in that literature: KPV, VIP and the KLOW blend that contains KPV. This page explains the models used and lists the articles.
Research Articles
Related Products
What question does this field ask?
How does a mucosal surface, mostly the gut, keep microbes out and inflammation in check, and which peptide signals change that? The models are colitis, barrier-integrity and mucosal-immunity systems in mice, plus intestinal organoids.
Which compounds appear, and why?
KPV, the three-residue tail of α-MSH, is read in colitis and epithelial models, often delivered in hydrogel carriers. VIP entered through a 2026 Cell Stem Cell paper on neuronal VIP shaping intestinal stem cells and mucosal immunity. KLOW is here because KPV is one of its four components.
What do the studies measure?
Barrier permeability, cytokine profiles, epithelial repair and stem-cell activity in the crypt. The 2024 and 2025 KPV papers, for example, tested hydrogel carriers in murine colitis models and read colonic epithelial uptake. The record is preclinical, and the peptides are read as signals, not as drugs that kill microbes. KPV is not an antibiotic and no page on this site says otherwise. Each article names its model and its readout in the first paragraph.
How do the compounds compare?
| Compound | What it is | Sequence / formula | Molecular weight | Sources cited on its page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KPV | α-MSH C-terminal tripeptide (residues 11–13) | Lys-Pro-Val | 342.4 g/mol | 7 |
| VIP | vasoactive intestinal peptide, 28 amino acids | HSDAVFTDNYTRLRKQMAVKKYLNSILN-NH₂ | 3,326.8 g/mol | 16 |
| KLOW | four-component blend: KPV, GHK-Cu, BPC-157, TB-500 | see each component | per component | 9 |
Sequences and molecular weights are the values verified on each product page. "Sources cited" is the count shown on that page on 28 August 2026.
Where do I read more?
- The Tissue-Repair Research product class
- The Neuropeptides product class
- The KPV + GHK-Cu + BPC-157 + TB-500 blend, explained
Every compound on this page is supplied for laboratory research only. Each product page carries its full reference list.
References
- Jeong H et al. (2025). Multicompartmental hydrogel microspheres protecting and targeting KPV to colonic epithelium. ACS Appl Bio Mater. PMID 40030207
- Li Y et al. (2024). Growth factor-loaded temperature-sensitive hydrogel as biomimetic mucus attenuated murine ulcerative colitis. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. PMID 38289234
- Anastasio C, Peduto L (2026). Neuronal VIP shapes intestinal stem cell activity and mucosal immunity. Cell Stem Cell. PMID 41795422