Peptides
Patients Placebo controlled
Study endpoints
Route of administration Treatment
Results/ improvement
Reference/ level of evidence
PEER-REVIEW | COSMECEUTICALS | carcinogenic potential of growth
factors demonstrated that they do not pose any significant risk, since the levels used in topical cosmeceuticals is low and they minimally penetrate the skin6, 10
. Key growth factors used in topical
cosmeceutical applications include platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), and epidermal growth factor (EGF)11
ability to alter skin physiology by increasing collagen production and stimulating cells to replace extracellular matrix components13
. Peptide molecules are small enough
to penetrate the skin and exert their effects, but topical application is limited due to their ionic nature. Incorporation of a lipophilic derivative, such as palmitoyl, can facilitate transdermal delivery to the desired site14
.
Four main families of peptides have been used in cosmeceuticals: carrier, signal, enzyme-inhibiting, and neurotransmitter peptides15
(Table 3). . They are derived from a variety of
sources including humans, animals, plants, recombinant bacteria, and yeast12
. Commercially,
they are available in various topical formulations such as a cell culture medium collected from a line of dermal fibroblasts originating from neonatal foreskin (NouriCel- MD, Allergan, Carlsbad, CA) and a formulation of processed skin cell proteins comprising a mixture of cytokines, GFs, and antioxidants harvested from fetal fibroblast cell lysate (PSP, Neocutis, Merz, Lausanne, Switzerland), GFs derived from the secretions of the snail Cryptomhalus aspersa (SCA) are also commercially available (Tensage, Biopelle, Inc., Ferndale, MI). Numerous clinical studies have researched their skin rejuvenation potential and the most significant are summarised in Table 2.
Carrier peptides These peptides were designed to facilitate transportation of an agent to an active site in the skin. GHK-Cu, composed of glycine and histidyl, and lysine hooked to copper, a trace element necessary for wound healing16,17
, was commercialised Four main families
of peptides have been used in cosmeceuticals: carrier, signal, enzyme- inhibiting, and neurotransmitter peptides.
Peptides Topical peptides have been studied for their therapeutic potential by the anti-ageing cosmeceutical market. These molecules are short amino acid chains with a functional
Table 3 Overview of clinical studies with peptides
into a line of skin care products to minimise the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Several controlled facial studies confirmed anti-ageing, firming and anti-wrinkle activity of copper peptide GHK-Cu. A facial cream containing GHK-Cu increased collagen by 70% in photoaged skin of 20 female volunteers,
performing
better than vitamin C (50%) and retinoic acid (40%)18
.
Another 12-week facial study of GHK-Cu on 71 females with mild to advanced signs of photoaging reported significant improvement of skin laxity, reduced fine lines and the depths of
wrinkles and increased skin density and thickness comparing to placebo. A 12-week facial study on 67 women with advanced photoaging showed that GHK-Cu cream
applied twice daily improved aged skin appearance, reduced wrinkles and strongly stimulated dermal keratinocyte proliferation as determined by histological analysis of biopsies. The same study found copper peptide GHK-Cu to be non-toxic and non-irritating18
.
GHK-Cu vs 20 – Vitamin C vs Retinoid acid
GHK-Cu GHK-Cu
71 – 67 – production
Increased collagen
Topical 12 wks
70% increase 18/LOE-III vs 40% and 50% with
other treatments
Photoageing Topical 12 weeks Significant Photoageing Topical 12 weeks Significant
Pal-KTTKS 49 + Ageing skin Topical 4 months Significant Pal-KTTKS 93 + Ageing skin Topical 12 weeks Significant,
wrinkle reduction
Argineline 10 Vialox 16 ❚ 10
– Ageing skin Topical 1 month 30% wrinkle reduction
Argineline 60 + Periorbital wrinkles
– Crow’s feet Topical 28 days 50% March 2015 |
prime-journal.com
60/LOE-II 18/LOE-II 19/LOE-II 14/ LOE-II
23/LOE-III
Topical 4 weeks 48.9% wrinkle 24/LOE-II reduction
15/LOE-III
Signal peptides The most prevalent and widely used single peptide is palmitoyl pentapeptide (Pal-KTTKS) commercially known as Matrixyl (Sederma, Paris, France). This peptide is a procollagen I fragment that stimulates the production of collagen I, III, and IV in vitro. In a 4-month double-blind study enrolling 49 women that applied either (Pal- KTTKS) or vehicle twice daily showed significant improvement in skin roughness, rhytides, and depth compared to control. No adverse effects were noted19 In a 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, split-
.
face, left-right randomised clinical study with 93 female subjects (aged 35-55) assessing two topical products with one containing 3 ppm pal-KTTKS, showed that Pal-
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