Decorinyl

What is decorinyl?

Decorinyl, also known as Tripeptide-10 Citrulline, is a synthetic peptide made up of 4 amino acids (R). It was identified by screening for peptides that can act as a substitute for decorin, an important proteoglycan in the skin that controls the assembly and formation of collagen fibrils (R).

Decorin works by binding to parallel neighbouring collagen molecules, stabilising and orienting them as well as regulating the dimensions, diameter and spacing of collagen fibrils (R, R). As the skin ages, decorin is replaced by decorunt, a fragment of decorin not found in young skin, that has 100-fold lower affinity for type I collagen (R). This change may be linked to the less elastic and more fragile skin observed in the elderly (R, R).