Acetyl Hexapeptide-3

• Acetyl Hexapeptide-3 reduces the depth of wrinkles on the face caused by the contraction of muscles of facial expression

• Acetyl Hexapeptide-3 is a safer, cheaper and mild alternative to Botulinum Toxin A, topically targeting the same wrinkle-formation mechanism in a very different way.
  

How does Acetyl Hexapeptide-3 work?
Muscles are contracted when they receive neurotransmitter that travels within a vesicle. The SNARE (SNAP Receptor) complex is essential for this neurotransmitter release at the synapsis (A. Ferrer Montiel et al, The Journal of Biological Chemistry, 1997, 272, 2634-2638.) It is a ternary complex formed by the proteins VAMP, Syntaxin and SNAP-25. This complex is like a cellular hook which captures vesicles and fuses them with the membrane for the release of neurotransmitter.

Acetyl Hexapeptide-3 is a mimic of the N-terminal end of SNAP-25 which competes with the SNARE complex, thereby modulating its formation. If the SNARE complex is slightly destabilized, the vesicle cannot dock and release neurotransmitters efficiently and therefore muscle contraction is attenuated, preventing the formation of lines and wrinkles.

Several in vitro and in vivo tests on humans have been performed to prove the anti-wrinkle efficacy of an O/W emulsion containing 10% Acetyl Hexapeptide-3 solution.

ANTI-WRINKLE TEST ON HEALTHY VOLUNTEERS
Skin topography analyses were performed by obtaining silicon imprints from around the eyes of 10 healthy women volunteers. Silicon imprints were obtained pre-test and after 30 days of twice a day applications. Analyses of the imprints were performed by confocal laser scanning microscopy to assess the evolution of the skin surface before and after the treatment. Skin topography images from the three dimensional reconstruction of optical sections are shown in the figure. The depth of the wrinkle decreased an average of 27%, with maximum values between 50 and 60%.