The melanocortin connection

A fragment of a hormone family, acting partly off the usual receptors

KPV is one tail end of the melanocortin system, the POMC-derived hormones and the receptors they act on. Understanding that family explains both where KPV's anti-inflammatory reputation comes from and why its mechanism is genuinely puzzling: in several models KPV works even when the classic melanocortin receptors are absent or silent.

This unit maps the family, the receptors, and the canonical-versus-noncanonical signaling question that makes KPV more than just a smaller alpha-MSH.