K4 Elite
K4 Elite
GHK-Cu is a copper-binding tripeptide (glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine) complexed with copper(II), extensively studied in skin, hair, and wound-healing research and used as a cosmetic ingredient.
GHK-Cu is the copper(II) complex of the naturally occurring tripeptide glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine (GHK). The free GHK sequence was first identified in human plasma, and its concentration is reported to decline with age. Because GHK has a high affinity for copper ions, the physiologically relevant form is generally the copper complex, GHK-Cu.
GHK-Cu is one of the most studied "copper peptides" and appears widely in the cosmetic and dermatological literature. Research areas include wound healing, skin remodeling, collagen and glycosaminoglycan synthesis, antioxidant activity, and hair-follicle biology.
The free tripeptide (GHK) corresponds to PubChem CID 73587 (C14H24N6O4, 340.38); the neutral 1:1 copper complex shown here corresponds to CID 165429100. GHK-Cu is used as a cosmetic ingredient but is not an approved drug for the therapeutic areas discussed.
GHK-Cu is proposed to act as a copper-delivery vehicle, facilitating the transport of copper ions that serve as cofactors for enzymes involved in extracellular matrix remodeling, such as lysyl oxidase. Preclinical studies report stimulation of collagen, elastin, and glycosaminoglycan synthesis by dermal fibroblasts.
Additional proposed activities from cell-culture and gene-expression studies include antioxidant effects, modulation of matrix metalloproteinases and their inhibitors, and broad changes in gene expression associated with tissue remodeling and repair. These mechanisms derive largely from in vitro and animal research.
Maquart and colleagues reported that GHK-Cu stimulated collagen synthesis and glycosaminoglycan accumulation in cultured fibroblasts and in experimental wound models, using biochemical assays of matrix components as outcomes [2].
Pickart and Margolina reviewed a series of studies in which GHK and GHK-Cu were applied in animal wound models and human skin fibroblast cultures, describing accelerated wound contraction and increased expression of remodeling-associated genes; measured outcomes included wound-area reduction and matrix-protein expression [1].
Gene-array studies summarized by Pickart reported that GHK modulated the expression of a large number of human genes toward a profile associated with tissue repair and antioxidant response, using microarray expression data as the primary measure [3].
Combinations examined in the research literature. Descriptive only — not a recommendation to combine compounds.