AHK-Cu

What Is AHK-Cu?

AHK-Cu is a synthetic copper-binding tripeptide (alanyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine) chelated to a copper(II) ion. It is a structural analogue of GHK-Cu in which the glycine at position 1 is replaced by alanine, a substitution that shifts its activity from broad dermal regeneration toward the hair follicle. The primary target is the dermal papilla, the mesenchymal cell cluster at the base of the follicle that governs the anagen (growth) phase of the hair cycle.

In vitro work from Pickart, Uno, and the ProCyte research programme showed that AHK-Cu increases dermal papilla cell proliferation, prolongs anagen, and induces VEGF expression in follicular cells, driving perifollicular angiogenesis. It also upregulates basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) and keratinocyte growth factor (KGF), both of which promote the telogen-to-anagen transition. The copper ion serves the same cofactor role as in GHK-Cu, loading into lysyl oxidase for collagen crosslinking and into superoxide dismutase for antioxidant defence in the perifollicular environment, where oxidative stress is a documented contributor to androgenetic alopecia. Systemic plasma half-life is short, similar to GHK-Cu at roughly 25 to 60 minutes, while tissue-level effects on follicle cycling are measured over a full hair cycle of 8 to 12 weeks in the published models.