Lipotec targets muscle contractions to help fight against laughter lines

The mechanism of the new ingredient, inyline, is based on the idea that expression lines often found around the eyes and forehead are caused by repeated contraction of certain facial muscles.

Lipotec’s inyline, a hexapeptide, has been designed to interfere with the messages that pass from the neuron to the muscle cell, to stop it from contracting.

When messages, transported via neurons, arrive at the synapse (the junction) between the neuron and the muscle cell, they are changed into chemical signals and are transmitted across the gap by a neurotransmitter such as acetylcholine.

The company already has a number of ingredients that the release of acetylcholine, which Lipotec refers to as the pre-synaptic approach as it has its effect before the junction.

However, with inyline the company is attempting a post-synaptic approach and is focusing on the receptors that would normally bind with acetylcholine in the muscle.

The acetylcholine receptors in the muscle must cluster together in order to receive the signal from the neurotransmitter. This clustering is controlled by a second messenger pathway; a pathway that is interrupted by inyline.

Therefore, by stopping the acetylcholine receptors from clustering together, inyline is spotting the muscle contracting, according to Lipotec.

Spokesperson for the company Raquel Merino explained to CosmeticsDesign that the development of this post-synaptic approach, along with the pre-synaptic method, could lead to combination formulas that attempt to tackle the problem from both sides.

“Pre-synaptic strategy already offers peptide combinations with independent mechanisms including ingredients such as Argireline and Leuphasyl. A post-synaptic approach could suggest an increase of the number of formulation feasibilities.”​

Lipotec conducted an in vivo ​study on the ingredient on 20 female volunteers aged between 41 and 50 who applied a cream containing 5 per cent inyline to the crow’s feet area around the eyes, twice daily.

According to the company, a decrease in wrinkle depth of 14.9 per cent demonstrates the ability of the ingredient to attenuate expression wrinkles after 28 days of treatment.