RGD peptide is a synthetic compound made up of the arginine-glycine-aspartate motif that has been extensively used to inhibit integrin-ligand interactions in studies related to cell adhesion, migration, growth, and differentiation. RGD peptide has also been shown to directly induce apoptosis, independent of integrin-mediated cell clustering or signals, by initiating conformational changes that enhance pro-caspase-3 activation and autoprocessing.
