# Reading list

> US Peptide Importer reading list — The US Peptide Importer reading list: tirzepatide trials, BPC-157 animal and pilot work, GHK-Cu skin research and thymosin alpha-1 clinical studies.

Clinical trials, laboratory work and reviews for the four compound files.

## Starting points

For the opening skin experiment, start with [Hostynek and colleagues on copper penetration](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3016279/) and then [the recent topical GHK review](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11830136/). For tirzepatide, the [discovery report](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30473097/) leads into the [direct obesity comparison](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40353578/).

The BPC-157 file pairs [rat and dog pharmacokinetics](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36588717/) with [the review of the small human literature](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40789979/). For thymosin alpha-1, read [ETASS](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23327199/) beside [TESTS](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39814420/); the later result changes the sepsis argument considerably.

The full publication list follows. Reviews draw several experiments together; the individual papers preserve the populations, preparations and outcomes of each study.

## References

[1] Aronne LJ, et al. Tirzepatide as Compared with Semaglutide for the Treatment of Obesity. N Engl J Med. 2025. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40353578/
[2] Farzam K, Patel P. Tirzepatide (StatPearls). StatPearls [Internet], NCBI Bookshelf. 2024. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK585056/
[3] Zeng Q, et al. Safety issues of tirzepatide (pancreatitis and gallbladder or biliary disease) in type 2 diabetes and obesity: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2023. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37908750/
[4] Jastreboff AM, et al. Tirzepatide Once Weekly for the Treatment of Obesity. N Engl J Med. 2022. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35658024/
[5] Frias JP, et al. Tirzepatide versus Semaglutide Once Weekly in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes. N Engl J Med. 2021. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34170647/
[6] Willard FS, et al. Tirzepatide is an imbalanced and biased dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist. JCI Insight. 2020. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32730231/
[7] Coskun T, et al. LY3298176, a novel dual GIP and GLP-1 receptor agonist for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus: From discovery to clinical proof of concept. Mol Metab. 2018. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30473097/
[8] Lee E, Burgess K. Safety of Intravenous Infusion of BPC157 in Humans: A Pilot Study. Altern Ther Health Med. 2025. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40131143/
[9] McGuire FP, et al. Regeneration or Risk? A Narrative Review of BPC-157 for Musculoskeletal Healing. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med. 2025. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40789979/
[10] He L, et al. Pharmacokinetics, distribution, metabolism, and excretion of body-protective compound 157, a potential drug for treating various wounds, in rats and dogs. Front Pharmacol. 2022;13:1026182. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36588717/
[11] Hsieh MJ, et al. Therapeutic potential of pro-angiogenic BPC157 is associated with VEGFR2 activation and up-regulation. J Mol Med (Berl). 2017;95:323-333. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27847966/
[12] Xue XC, et al. Protective effects of pentadecapeptide BPC 157 on gastric ulcer in rats. World J Gastroenterol. 2004;10:1032-1037. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15052688/
[13] Mortazavi SM, Mohammadi Vadoud SA, Moghimi HR. Topically applied GHK as an anti-wrinkle peptide: Advantages, problems and prospective. BioImpacts. 2025;15:30071. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11830136/
[14] Pickart L, Margolina A. Regenerative and Protective Actions of the GHK-Cu Peptide in the Light of the New Gene Data. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2018;19(7):1987. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6073405/
[15] Lee WJ, Sim HB, Jang YH, Lee SJ, Kim DW, Yim SH. Efficacy of a Complex of 5-Aminolevulinic Acid and Glycyl-Histidyl-Lysine Peptide on Hair Growth. Annals of Dermatology. 2016;28(4):438-443. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4969472/
[16] Pickart L, Vasquez-Soltero JM, Margolina A. GHK Peptide as a Natural Modulator of Multiple Cellular Pathways in Skin Regeneration. BioMed Research International. 2015;2015:648108. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4508379/
[17] Hostynek JJ, Dreher F, Maibach HI. Human skin penetration of a copper tripeptide in vitro as a function of skin layer. Inflammation Research. 2011;60(1):79-86. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3016279/
[18] Wu J, Pei F, Zhou L, et al. The efficacy and safety of thymosin alpha1 for sepsis (TESTS): multicentre, double blinded, randomised, placebo controlled, phase 3 trial. BMJ. 2025. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39814420/
[19] Dominari A, Hathaway Iii D, Pandav K, et al. Thymosin alpha 1: A comprehensive review of the literature. World J Virol. 2020. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33362999/
[20] Liu Y, Pan Y, Hu Z, et al. Thymosin Alpha 1 Reduces the Mortality of Severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 by Restoration of Lymphocytopenia and Reversion of Exhausted T Cells. Clin Infect Dis. 2020. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32442287/
[21] Costantini C, Bellet MM, Pariano M, et al. A Reappraisal of Thymosin Alpha1 in Cancer Therapy. Front Oncol. 2019. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31555601/
[22] Wu J, Zhou L, Liu J, et al. The efficacy of thymosin alpha 1 for severe sepsis (ETASS): a multicenter, single-blind, randomized and controlled trial. Crit Care. 2013. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23327199/

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An independent desk for reading peptide literature beside US import records—never a shop, a laboratory certificate, legal counsel, or medical advice.