An immunomodulatory peptide derived from the thymus gland, approved in several countries for hepatitis B/C and studied for immune enhancement in cancer and infectious diseases.
Thymosin alpha1 (Talpha1) is a 28 amino acid biologically active protein cleaved from positions 2-29 of a precursor protein, prothymosin alpha. Since its discovery, Talpha1 has been administered to animals and humans in a wide variety of settings and…
Thymosin alpha 1 (Talpha1) has therapeutic potential in the treatment of infectious diseases and cancer. However, the exact molecular pathways for Talpha1 action are not fully understood. We found that Talpha1 induces the production of interleukin-6…
The ability of thymosin alpha1 (Talpha1) to prevent lung and breast cancer was investigated. Lung adenomas developed in A/J mice injected with carcinogens, such as urethane. The lung adenoma number was reduced by 15-45% if animals were daily treated…
From a clinical perspective, the immune deficiency of aging (immune senescence) is not profound. In fact, it may be of little clinical consequence. However, older people are prone to chronic and debilitating disorders which alone, or in concert with…
Despite the use of combination therapy with pegylated interferon alpha2a (peg-IFN-alpha2a) + Ribavirin, a large proportion of patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) remain unresponsive to treatment. Thymosin alpha 1 (Talpha1) is an immunomodulator,…
Mouse studies showed a synergy of thymosin alpha1 (Talpha1) and a natural cytokine mixture (IRX-2) in increasing T lymphocyte number and responses. Clinical studies with IRX-2 showed increases of T lymphocytes in lymphocytopenic cancer patients but r…
The purpose of this review article is to examine previous and ongoing studies of thymalfasin in combination with peginterferon-alpha2a and peginterferon-alpha2a plus ribavirin in difficult-to-treat hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients. The following stud…
After the initial dramatic effects, observed in a Lewis lung carcinoma animal model, using a combination of thymosin alpha 1 (Talpha1) and interferon (IFN) after cyclophosphamide, a number of other preclinical models in mice (Friend erythroleukemia a…
A derivative (1) of the immunopotentiating 28-peptide thymosin alpha1 has been especially designed, so that it can be (99m)Tc-radiolabelled, and synthesized following the Fmoc solid-phase peptide synthesis approach. Derivative 1 contains the N-termin…
OBJECTIVE: To study the efficacy and mechanism of thymosin alpha(1) (Talpha(1)) combined with high dose dexamethasone (HD-Dex) in patients with chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. METHODS: (1) Out of sixty-six newly diagnosed patients with c…
There is an increasing application of protein/peptide drugs in the treatment of various diseases such as cancer and autoimmune diseases in clinical settings. However, data is scant on the potential for modulation of cytochrome P450s (CYPs) by these p…
Site-specific mono-PEGylations were performed in different conformational regions of Thymosin alpha 1 (T alpha 1) by introducing one cysteine residue into the chosen site and coupling with thiol-specific mPEG-MAL reagent. Results demonstrated that PE…
Reactivation of latent human cytomegalovirus following allogeneic transplantation is a major cause of morbidity and mortality and predisposes to severe complications. Thymosin alpha1 (Talpha1), a naturally occurring thymic peptide, is approved for tr…
AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of thymosin alpha 1 (TA1) on severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) in rats. METHODS: Healthy Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 72) were randomly divided into four groups: control group, SAP group, and two TA1…
SciClone Pharmaceuticals licensed the commercial and patent rights to thymosin alpha1, for geographical regions of the world excluding the United States and Europe, in the early 1990s. With this license, SciClone embarked on global drug development,…
AIM: To investigate the effects of thymosin alpha1 (Talpha1) on the differentiation, maturation and function of tumor lysate-pulsed dendritic cells (LyDCs) in vitro, and to study the antitumor effects on tumor models of the nude mice bearing colon ca…
Dual reporter genes driven by either a ubiquitous cytomegalovirus (CMV) or a neuro-specific tubulin alpha1 promoter (Talpha1) were constructed. The new genes, CMV (pCMV-GL) or Talpha1 promoter-driven GFP-LacZ (pTalpha1-GL), robustly expressed the fus…
Combination therapy between two immunomodulators used for treatment of chronic hepatitis B was explored based on reported therapeutic efficacy of interferon-alpha, and thymosin-alpha1 as monotherapeutic agents to determine if combination therapy was…
Thymosin alpha1 (Talpha1), a 28-amino acid peptide, is a well-known immune system enhancer for the treatment of various diseases. In the present investigation, the effects of Talpha1 on the proliferation and apoptosis of human leukemia cell lines (HL…