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.
We have evaluated the immunological abnormalities present in a 6 year old patient with primary intestinal and generalized lymphangiectasia confirmed by intestinal, lung and lymph node biopsies. Lymphocyte loss through the gut was confirmed by the det…
Changes in the circulating lymphocyte populations and thymus glands were studied in rats with experimental chronic renal insufficiency (CRI). Compared to normal or sham-operated animals, rats with CRI had significant reduction in the percentages of c…
The immune systems of patients with AIDS are characterized by a profound defect in cell-mediated immunity which is predominantly due to a decrease in the number and function of the helper/inducer T lymphocytes, particularly the antigen-reactive cells…
T lymphocyte maturation activity of supernatants from cultured human epidermal cells was investigated using a biological rosette assay based upon Thy 1 induction on T cell precursors. Between days 5 and 18 of keratinocyte cultures, supernatants exhib…
At the optimal concentrations of Mg2+ and K+ to translate total thymus PolyA+-RNA, the purified thymosin alpha 1 precursor mRNA saturate the protein synthetic activity at lower concentration than the total thymus mRNAs. The polyamine spermidine incre…
Cord blood lymphocytes (CBL) have been shown to be functionally immature compared with normal circulating adult lymphocytes (NAL). Differentiation of T cells is associated with changes in surface antigenic markers and in the pattern of purine degrada…
An increasing amount of data supports the hypothesis that there are bidirectional circuits between the central nervous system (CNS) and the immune system. Soluble products that appear to transmit information from the immune compartment to the CNS inc…
A single injection of immunodeficient old (15-24 month old) BDF1 mice with 1-100 micrograms of synthetic thymosin alpha 1 (T alpha 1), a 28-amino acid residue peptide, shortly before horse erythrocyte (HRBC)-priming, enhances the helper activity of t…
The endocrine thymus produces several hormone-like peptides (generically termed thymosins) which control development of the thymic-dependent lymphoid system and participate in the process of immune regulation. In addition, recent literature supports…
Thymosin fraction 5 (TF5) enhances interleukin-2 (IL-2) production by human peripheral blood mononuclear leukocytes (PBL) when cocultured in the presence of phytohemagglutinin (PHA). This important biological activity of TF5 is not due to the presenc…
A randomized trial was performed in 42 postradiotherapy patients with non-small cell lung cancer to determine whether the administration of synthetic thymosin-alpha 1 by either a loading dose or a twice-weekly schedule could accelerate the reconstitu…
A novel synthesis of thymosin alpha 1 by classical methods using seven tert.-butyl side chain protected fragments is described. Optimum conditions were found for the final DCC/HOBt coupling of the two key intermediates; decapeptide and octadecapeptid…
In these studies it was found that i.p. injection of thymosin fraction 5 (TF5) caused a dose-dependent increase in serum corticosterone in male Swiss Webster mice and in male Wistar rats. The maximum responses were seen at 1 and 2 hr, respectively. T…
The specific compartmentalization of intrathymic lymphoid cells in different steps of T-cell maturation and the involvement of thymosin components in these steps prompted us to evaluate the localization of epithelial cells synthesizing various thymos…
The manuscript will provide an in-depth and critical review of the nomenclature, biochemistry, biological properties, and a summary of published and on-going clinical trials with all reported thymic preparations, including both partially purified thy…
In the present work we analyze the effects of thymosin alpha 1 treatment on the number and the candidacidal activity of murine polymorphonuclear leukocytes. The data we obtained showed that the treatment with thymosin alpha 1 (100 micrograms/Kg s.c.)…
The effects on PGE2 release by lymphocytes obtained from adult thymectomized mice and from normal mice, after incubation with Thymosin alpha 1, were studied. Splenocytes from Tx mice release PGE2 at short time of incubation (15') using 4 micrograms/m…
A peptide, parathymosin alpha, containing approximately equal to 105 amino acid residues, has been isolated from rat thymus, and the sequence of the first 30 residues at the NH2 terminus has been determined. In this region, it shows 43% structural id…
The primary structure of prothymosin alpha from rat thymus, containing 113 amino acid residues, is reported as follows: (formula; see text) The sequence of the first 28 amino acids at the NH2 terminus is identical to that of calf thymosin alpha 1. Th…