KPV (Lys-Pro-Val) is a synthetic tripeptide corresponding to the C-terminal three amino acids of alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH, positions 11–13). Alpha-MSH is a 13-residue peptide derived from proopiomelanocortin (POMC); characterization of its bioactive C-terminal fragments, including KPV, emerged from structure-activity studies conducted in the 1980s and 1990s examining the minimum effective sequence for anti-inflammatory activity.

Preclinical research on KPV has focused primarily on intestinal and systemic anti-inflammatory mechanisms. Dalmasso and colleagues at the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis demonstrated in a 2008 PLOS ONE study that KPV inhibits IκB kinase (IKK) phosphorylation and downstream NF-κB p65 nuclear translocation in intestinal epithelial cells, suppressing pro-inflammatory cytokine production independent of surface receptor occupancy. Brzoska and co-investigators have characterized the broader pharmacological profile of C-terminal α-MSH tripeptide fragments across dermal and systemic inflammatory models. All findings referenced here derive from preclinical models and have not been validated in controlled human clinical trials.

KPV research appears in PLOS ONE, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, and Journal of Investigative Dermatology. It is not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for any diagnostic, therapeutic, or preventive application. It is classified as a research compound only.