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.
The effects of thymosin-alpha 1 on the stimulation of specific release of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) from splenic lymphocytes and thymocytes were studied. Experiments were also performed to study in parallel the absolute levels of thymosin-alpha 1 in th…
1. Thymosin alpha 1 precursor [3H]cDNA-cellulose synthesis was carried out by reverse transcription with RNA-dependent DNA polymerase from avian myeloblastosis virus using oligo(dT)-bound to cellulose as a primer. 2. Unlabelled thymosin alpha 1 precu…
To help clarify the nature and pathogenesis of the syndrome of severely opportunistic infection associated with immune deficiency in young homosexual males, we investigated the immunological characteristics of a group of 33 young homosexual men. Thes…
Peanut agglutinin-positive thymocytes, peanut agglutinin-negative thymocytes, cortisone-resistant thymocytes, and unfractionated thymocytes were prepared from congeneic C57BL/6 Tla mice. By using surface iodination and immunoprecipitation of solubili…
Using a radioimmunoassay for thymosin alpha 1, endogenous thymosin-like peptides were characterized in the rat brain and pituitary gland. Thymosin alpha 1-like peptides were present in high concentrations in hypothalamus and pituitary extracts. These…
The effect of thymosin alpha 1 was examined in mice immunosuppressed by cytostatics or X-ray irradiation. Inoculation of B16 melanoma or L1210 leukemic cells into these immunosuppressed mice caused a high incidence of pulmonary metastasis or rapid de…
Using monoclonal antibody 12/1-2 against a 19,000-dalton human T cell leukemia virus (HTLV) protein (anti-p19), previously demonstrated to be reactive with HTLV-infected human cells, but not in numerous other uninfected cells, we found a reactive ant…
Studies by many investigators have demonstrated that the immune system is subject to regular circadian fluctuation. Some rhythms that have been reported include circadian changes in components of the immune system, e.g., lymphocytes, and circadian va…
Using a monoclonal antibody (A2B5), which binds to GQ ganglioside, and tetanus toxin, which binds to GD and GT gangliosides, distinct regions of human and rodent thymic epithelial cells have been identified. The lymphoid elements of the thymus do not…
Since patients with advanced cancer are usually immunodeficient, they might benefit from therapy with thymic hormones, which have an immunorestorative effect in immunosuppressed laboratory animals. We treated 14 patients with thymosin fraction 5 (TF5…
Two peptides related to thymosin alpha 1 have been isolated from preparations of calf thymosin fraction 5. One, lacking four amino acid residues at the COOH terminus, is designated des-(25-28)-thymosin alpha 1. The other, named thymosin alpha 11, con…
Changes in levels of purine degradative enzymes have been shown to occur during T-cell maturation in both rats and humans with a fall in adenosine deaminase (ADA) and a rise in purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) and 5'-nucleotidase (5'NT) activiti…
High-performance liquid chromatography (muBondapak C18 column with 0.05% trifluoroacetic acid in acetonitrile as solvent system) was used to isolate thymosin alpha 1 (alpha 1) from thymosin fraction 5 (f5) of various species (calf, pig, sheep and mou…
Endotoxin-free thymosin fraction 5 elevated corticotropin, beta-endorphin, and cortisol in a dose- and time-dependent fashion when administered intravenously to prepubertal cynomolgus monkeys. Two synthetic component peptides of thymosin fraction 5 h…
N alpha-Acyl amino acid releasing enzyme (NAARE), an enzyme cleaving acetylMet-Ala at the Met-Ala bond was purified from rat brain cytosol to apparent homogeneity by salt precipitation, gel filtration, and several steps of ion exchange. Levels of NAA…
Thymic epithelium from three patients with severe cellular immunodeficiency diseases were compared with age-matched normal thymic epithelium using three markers of human thymic epithelium and antibodies against thymosin alpha 1, thymopoietin, and thy…
A disassociation microELISA was devised for the estimation of thymosin alpha 1, a chemically characterized thymic polypeptide isolated from bovine thymosin fraction 5. Antiserum to synthetic thymosin alpha 1 was raised in rabbits. Thymosin alpha 1 in…