Acetyl hexapeptide-3 is a synthetic anti-wrinkle cosmetics ingredient.
It is a peptide marketed as Argireline by the Spanish research laboratory Lipotec. Peptides are short polymers of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. They have the same chemical structure as proteins, but are shorter in length.
Overview and Common Use
Argireline is used in attempts to decrease the visible effects of aging by reducing the deep wrinkles and lines that occur around the forehead and eyes. Chemically, when applied as a solution to specific areas of the face, Argireline inhibits the reactions that cause muscles to move or contract – for example when forming facial expressions such as smiling or frowning.
Argirlene is said to be a safer alternative to Botox.
In order to target different parts of the expression wrinkle formation Lipotec have designed four peptides which act in pre-synaptic and postsynaptic mechanisms to relax the muscle. The Pre-synaptic strategy involves
different mechanisms that restrict or inhibit the release of the neurotransmitter (acetylcholine) from the motor neuron. The most well-known example of a pre-synaptic treatment is Botulinum Toxin, which cleaves the protein SNAP-25 irreversibly, preventing SNARE complex assembly and finally paralysing the muscle. However, Lipotec has developed safer cosmetic alternatives to Botulinum Toxin such as the well-known peptides Leuphasyl, Argireline and SNAP-8. The enkephalinlike peptide Leuphasyl couples to the enkephalin receptor, decreasing the neuron excitability and resulting in ACh release modulation. Argireline and SNAP-8 peptides target the same protein complex as Botulinum Toxin A.
Both actives are a mimic of the N-terminal end of SNAP-25 which competes with SNAP-25 for a position in the SNARE complex, thereby modulating its formation. If the SNARE complex is slightly destabilised, then the vesicle cannot release neurotransmitters efficiently. Consequently, muscle contraction is attenuated and the muscle is relaxed rather than paralysed, preventing the formation of lines and wrinkles. In post-synaptic strategy, although the neurotransmitter is released into the synapse, the formation of the action potential is reduced. The Inyline peptide acts as a competitive antagonist of agrin, thus preventing AChR clustering which is necessary for Ach to trigger the action potential that leads to muscle contraction – a novel post-synaptic approach to the reduction of expression wrinkles.
The Science In Short
Argireline mimics the N-terminal end of SNAP-25 and it competes with the natural protein for a position in the SNARE complex. If the SNARE complex is slightly destabilised, the vesicle can not release neurotransmitters efficiently and therefore muscle contraction is attenuated, preventing the formation of lines and wrinkles.
References: Wikipedia
