Exploring the beneficial effects of GHK-Cu on an experimental model of colitis and the underlying mechanisms

Mao S, Huang J, Li J, Sun F, Zhang Q, Cheng Q, Zeng W, Lei D, Wang S, Yao J · Frontiers in Pharmacology

Improved disease activity index and colonic histology, restored ZO-1 and occludin, and lowered TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β. Silencing STAT3 abolished GHK-Cu's effect on epithelial healing and tight-junction proteins but not its cytokine suppression, implicating SIRT1/STAT3 for the repair arm specifically.

Population

BALB/c mice given 3% dextran sulfate sodium for 14 days, with macrophage and colonic-epithelial co-culture

Intervention

GHK-Cu

Comparator

DSS alone

Limitations

Gut mucosal endpoint. Target identification rests partly on network pharmacology and molecular docking, which are computational predictions.