Collagen-stimulating activity of a pentapeptide conjugate and self-assembly into micelles.
- 1School of Chemistry, Food Biosciences and Pharmacy, University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6AD, UK. [email protected].
- 2Nanomicroscopy Center, Aalto University, Puumiehenkuja 2, FIN-02150 Espoo, Finland.
Abstract
We present a lipopeptide conjugate, farnesyl-mercapto(diethylene glycol)-KTTKS (FMdEG-KTTKS), designed to include the KTTKS collagen-stimulating sequence attached to a terpenoid branched lipid chain via a short hydrophilic spacer. This conjugate stimulates fibroblasts to produce greater than 200% more collagen per cell than conventional stimulants. This activity is observed at low concentration, well below a critical micelle concentration (CMC) determined by fluorescence probe measurements. Above the CMC, this molecule self-assembles into well-defined spherical micelles, as shown by cryogenic-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The behaviour of this conjugate is contrasted with that of related lipopeptides: FMdEG-KTTKS forms micelles across a wide pH range, instead of nanotapes observed for C₁₆-KTTKS (Matrixyl™). The molecule is shown to stimulate production of type I collagen (beneficial for anti-aging treatments) and promotes repopulation of fibroblasts in a cell monolayer after scratching, as a simple model for skin injury. FMdEG-KTTKS also has anti-inflammatory activity, reducing the production of nitrite in macrophages challenged with bacterial lipopolysaccharide.
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BibTeX
@article{mello2026collagenstimulating,
title = {{Collagen-stimulating activity of a pentapeptide conjugate and self-assembly into micelles.}},
author = {Lucas de Mello and Valeria Castelletto and Jani Seitsonen and Ian W Hamley},
journal = {Nanoscale},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1039/d6nr03203f},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42969504},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Collagen-stimulating activity of a pentapeptide conjugate and self-assembly into micelles.
AU - Lucas de Mello
AU - Valeria Castelletto
AU - Jani Seitsonen
AU - Ian W Hamley
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
JO - Nanoscale
DO - 10.1039/d6nr03203f
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42969504
AB - We present a lipopeptide conjugate, farnesyl-mercapto(diethylene glycol)-KTTKS (FMdEG-KTTKS), designed to include the KTTKS collagen-stimulating sequence attached to a terpenoid branched lipid chain via a short hydrophilic spacer. This conjugate stimulates fibroblasts to produce greater than 200% more collagen per cell than conventional stimulants. This activity is observed at low concentration, well below a critical micelle concentration (CMC) determined by fluorescence probe measurements. Above the CMC, this molecule self-assembles into well-defined spherical micelles, as shown by cryogenic-transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The behaviour of this conjugate is contrasted with that of related lipopeptides: FMdEG-KTTKS forms micelles across a wide pH range, instead of nanotapes observed for C₁₆-KTTKS (Matrixyl™). The molecule is shown to stimulate production of type I collagen (beneficial for anti-aging treatments) and promotes repopulation of fibroblasts in a cell monolayer after scratching, as a simple model for skin injury. FMdEG-KTTKS also has anti-inflammatory activity, reducing the production of nitrite in macrophages challenged with bacterial lipopolysaccharide.
SN - 2040-3364
SN - 2040-3372
ER -