Thymulin

Amelioration of type II collagen induced arthritis in rats by treatment with thymulin.

J Rheumatol · 1997

In rats with type II collagen-induced arthritis, serum thymulin levels were significantly lower than in untreated rats; thymulin administered intraperitoneally on the day of first immunisation diminished hind-paw swelling and the onset of arthritis, reduced serum anti-type II collagen antibody, and on histopathology inhibited granulation tissue and new bone formation in affected joints.

Nonathymulin in rheumatoid arthritis: two double blind, placebo controlled trials.

Ann Rheum Dis · 1987

Two randomised double-blind, placebo-controlled trials assessed nonathymulin, a synthetic thymic peptide hormone, in rheumatoid arthritis, comparing three dosage schedules (1, 5 and 10 mg/day); 5 mg proved the most efficient dose, giving significant clinical improvement on the global assessment of all patients who entered the trials (56% versus 17% in the placebo group, p<0.02) and on four objective parameters, with minimal adverse effects and no clear changes in immunological parameters.

NMR study of thymulin, a lymphocyte differentiating thymic nonapeptide. Conformational states of free peptide in solution.

J Biol Chem · 1986

NMR study of the conformational states of the free nonapeptide pyroGlu-Ala-Lys-Ser-Gln-Gly-Gly-Ser-Asn (thymulin, formerly called serum thymic factor), a factor produced by the thymic epithelium that requires a zinc ion to express its immunoregulatory properties; 1H and 13C NMR experiments characterised the free peptide in aqueous and dimethyl sulfoxide solution.

In vivo and in vitro studies of thymulin in marginally zinc-deficient mice.

Eur J Immunol · 1984

In mice kept on a long-term marginally zinc-deficient diet, serum thymulin levels fell significantly as early as two months after the diet began despite the absence of thymic atrophy, and were consistently restored by in vitro addition of zinc chloride; thymuses of zinc-deficient mice showed a progressive increase in the number of thymulin-containing cells.

Contribution of zinc and other metals to the biological activity of the serum thymic factor.

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · 1982

Serum thymic factor (FTS), in synthetic or natural form, lost its biological activity in a rosette assay after treatment with the metal-chelating agent Chelex 100, and activity was restored by adding zinc salts (and to a lesser extent certain other metal salts), with a 1:1 metal-to-peptide molar ratio giving the best activation; the authors concluded that a zinc-free, biologically inactive form and a zinc-containing, biologically active form exist, proposed the name thymulin (FTS-Zn) for the active form, and detected zinc in thymic reticuloepithelial cells.

In vivo treatment with a nonapeptide thymic hormone, facteur thymique serique (FTS), ameliorates chronic colitis induced by dextran sulphate sodium in mice

International Immunopharmacology · 2007

Research in a mouse model found that daily subcutaneous thymulin (FTS) significantly reduced lethality, weight loss, and histological inflammation in chronic DSS-induced colitis, associated with decreased interferon-gamma and proinflammatory interleukin levels and increased IL-10 production in lamina propria cells, demonstrating anti-inflammatory immunomodulatory activity.

Nonathymulin treatment of multiple sclerosis: double-blind pilot study.

Acta Neurol Scand · 1989

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial of nonathymulin (synthetic serum thymic factor) in 40 matched patients with evolutive multiple sclerosis and moderate disability, treated for 6 months and followed for another 6; there was no significant difference between treatment and control groups in Kurtzke disability scores, Ambulation Index or Functional Scale, no significant side effects were recorded, and the authors concluded nonathymulin is not effective in evolutive, moderately disabled MS.

The thymus-neuroendocrine axis: physiology, molecular biology, and therapeutic potential of the thymic peptide thymulin

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · 2009

This review summarizes evidence that thymulin (FTS), a zinc-dependent thymic nonapeptide, regulates intrathymic and extrathymic T cell differentiation, possesses anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties in the brain, and shows promise in adenoviral gene therapy models for sustaining long-term expression without immune destruction of transduced cells.