Studies

A monoclonal antibody to the non-thymosin alpha 1 overlapping sequence of parathymosin alpha was used to develop a micro ELISA to measure parathymosin alpha. Parathymosin alpha levels were measurable in both mouse tissue extracts and in human adult a…

Medium obtained by the perifusion of fragments of adult male CSE rat thymuses stimulates the release of luteinizing hormone (LH) from the anterior pituitary gland in vitro. The release of the stimulatory factor/s from the thymus appears to be stimula…

Anti-thymosin alpha 1 monoclonal antibodies recognized, on immunoblots, 1 to 2 bands corresponding to molecules of 34 and 35 Kd when using aqueous extracts of thymus, spleen, kidney, liver, brain, pituitary and adrenal glands from rats or mice. Anti-…

Prothymosin alpha, a protein first isolated from rat thymus and widely distributed in animal tissues, has an attributed role in the stimulation of the immune system. Its structure contains thymosin alpha 1, a Glu-rich domain and a putative nuclear lo…

Influences of age (3 wk, 2, 7, 19, or 26 mo), long-term dietary restriction (DR) started at 3 wk of age, and acute fasting state on serum thymosin alpha 1 (T alpha 1) levels were measured by radioimmunoassay in female mice from a long-lived strain. T…

The secretory evolution of the thymic hormones (thymulin, thymosin alpha 1 and thymopoietin) in cultured thymic reticuloepithelial cells (TREC) was studied by immunocytochemical techniques using monoclonal anti-thymulin or anti-thymosin alpha 1 and p…

A serum-free system has been developed for selective growth and long-term culture of rat thymic epithelial cells. The growth media is a modification of McKeehan's WAJC 404, plus insulin, cholera toxin, dexamethasone, and epidermal growth factor. Cult…

Using a polyclonal specific rabbit anti-thymosin alpha 1 a highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) has been developed to measure thymosin alpha 1. Production of thymosin alpha 1 was detected in both thymic organ cultures and in mou…

The epithelial cells of the thymus produce hormones that have been implicated in the maturation of T lymphocytes. Thymic epithelial cells can be encapsulated in a permselective polymer membrane that allows the passage of thymic hormones, but prevents…

Thymosin alpha 1 is one of several cytokines produced by the thymus that modulates immune function. The presence of elevated serum levels of thymosin alpha 1 in pregnant women and their newborns has suggested that this peptide may play a role in peri…

Murine monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) were produced against a rat medullary thyroid carcinoma to identify neuroendocrine differentiation antigens. One of these antibodies (1D4) identified a novel 62- to 69-kDa antigen expressed by subsets of immune sy…

Numerous Plasmodium falciparum antigens contain repetitive amino acid sequences. Two blood stage antigens, Pf11-1 and Pf332, were characterized in our laboratories and present high cross-reactivities, defining a family of cross-reacting antigens. In…

Thymic hormone production declines with age, and recent strategies for enhancing immune function in elderly people include the administration of various thymic preparations. In an effort to develop an animal model for such therapeutic intervention, t…

The thymic preparations thymosin fraction 5 (TF5) and synthetic thymosin alpha 1 (T alpha 1) were examined for their ability to enhance growth factor production by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). The results showed that both TF5 and…

Antibodies against the N-terminus of rat parathymosin alpha have been raised in rabbits by conjugating parathymosin alpha (1-30) to hemocyanin. A radioimmunoassay for parathymosin alpha was established by utilizing antibodies against the above polype…

alpha-Melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha-MSH 1-13) has marked antipyretic effects when administered centrally or peripherally in small doses. A C-terminal fragment, alpha-MSH (11-13), contains an antipyretic message sequence of alpha-MSH; however,…