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Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3 has been clinically proven to suppress the body’s production of interleukins (IL6), the chemical messengers that trigger inflammation, the first step in the aging cascade. Inflammation is a function of immunity and is a protective response to injury or destruction of tissue. This is the body’s way of walling off the injurious agent and the injured tissue. Under normal circumstances, very little IL6 is secreted and its secretion is strictly controlled. However, as we age this regulation system develops defects, and significant levels of IL6 appear in the plasma even when there is no inflammatory stimulus. This results in high levels of inflammatory proteins in the tissues and a loss of healing potential. At concentrations from 10 ppm, Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3 induces a marked reduction in the secretion of the cytokine IL6. This reduction is progressive and depends on the concentration of the peptide: baseline secretion may be inhibited by up to 40%. Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3 reduced levels of IL6 after cells were exposed to UV radiation by up to 86% even though IL6 had been increased by about 20 fold by the UV. These results show that Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3 is able to affect baseline levels of IL6 as well as modulate the effects of UV-stimulated over-production of IL6. Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3 is marketed by Sederma as a molecule that can restore cytokine equilibrium, which characterizes youthful skin.

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