Stimulation of collagen synthesis in fibroblast cultures by the tripeptide‐copper complex glycyl‐L‐histidyl‐L‐lysine‐Cu2+

Abstract

Glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine (GHK) is a tripeptide with affinity for copper(II) ions and was isolated from human plasma. This peptide appears to play a physiological role in wound healing. We report the stimulating effect of GHK-Cu on collagen synthesis by fibroblasts. The stimulation began between 10⁻¹² and 10⁻¹¹ M, maximized at 10⁻⁹ M, and was independent of any change in cell number. The presence of a GHK triplet in the α₂(I) chain of type I collagen suggests that the tripeptide might be liberated by proteases at the site of a wound and exert in situ healing effects.