RESEARCH

Thymosin Alpha-1 Peptide and Immune System

In this clinical study,⁽⁶⁾ 11 test subjects with different immune system dysfunctions were evaluated for the levels of their natural killer (NK) and lymphokine activated killer cells (LAK) present in their system. It was noted that the immunodeficient subjects demonstrated the mean LAK-cell activity of approximately 65% as compared to the control subjects. Upon presenting Thymosin Alpha-1 to the test subjects, researchers observed that it did not significantly improve the levels of NK or LAK cells. Only 3 test subjects were reported to exhibit improved LAK-cell activity by up to 30% whereas others were not significantly impacted.

Thymosin Alpha-1 Peptide and Hepatitis

Clinical trials were conducted in test subjects with liver complications, with some exhibiting Hepatitis B & C. Thymosin Alpha-1 was presented to the subjects to explore its potential mechanism of action on these complications.⁽³⁾ For subjects exhibiting Hepatitis B, it was reported by the research team that when these subjects were presented with Thymosin Alpha-1 twice a week for the duration of the study, the reported virological response rate of the subjects appeared increased by 40.6%. For Hepatitis C, subjects reportedly exhibited improved results when Thymosin Alpha-1 peptide was present in combination with interferon alpha compounds.

Thymosin Alpha-1 Peptide and Sepsis

In this 2015 study,⁽⁷⁾ a meta-analysis was conducted where all the relevant clinical trials prior to 2014 were analyzed to understand the possible mechanism of Thymosin Alpha-1 in relation to the sepsis reaction. In this study, 12 controlled trials were evaluated in total. Based on the extracted data and assessment, it was observed by the research analysts that there was a reported significant decline in mortality rate amongst test subjects following introduction to Thymosin Alpha-1. However, all these studies were conducted on an exceedingly small pool of test subjects.

Thymosin Alpha-1 Research with HIV

This study⁽⁾ consisted of a randomized phase II open-label clinical trial on 20 clinically stable test subjects. These patients were already undergoing highly active antiretroviral (HAART), alongside which Thymosin Alpha-1 peptide was presented to monitor the impact of the combination. Thymosin Alpha-1 was presented for two times in a week in 13 subjects. The remaining 7 subjects were given placebo. Every 2 weeks, the cell counts of CD4/CD8 cells, CD45 cells and signal joint T-cell receptor circles (sjTREC) levels were monitored. After 12 weeks, it was reported by the researchers that there were no apparent significant changes in the levels of CD4, CD and CD45 levels in both the peptide or the placebo group. However, the sjTREC levels reportedly increased in the subjects presented with the peptide. These elevated levels of sjTREC might potentially stimulate immune responses.

Thymosin Alpha-1 and Tumor Growth

In this study,⁽⁹⁾ the levels of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) were monitored in test models after the presentation of Thymosin Alpha-1.  During this study, Thymosin Alpha-1 was presented in mice with liver carcinoma. Both the leukomonocytes and HepG2 cells, given the peptide, were isolated from the mouse spleens, for the purpose of this study. Upon analysis, it was observed by the researchers that the ROS level appeared to be significantly higher in the isolated leuko-monocytes,  whereas it was apparently lower in the HepG2 cells. Also, the peptide appeared to possibly increase the levels of the leukomonocytes, whereas it may have delayed the cell cycle for HepG2 cells and thereby reduced their levels in the system.

References:

1. Immunodeficiency, British Society for Immunology. Published March 2017. https://www.immunology.org/policy-and-public-affairs/briefings-and-position-statements/immunodeficiency
2. Primary Immune Deficiency Diseases. https://www.niaid.nih.gov/diseases-conditions/primary-immune-deficiency-diseases-pidds
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