Thymosin Alpha 1 and Beta 4 Peptides

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Thymus Gland, Thymosins and Peptide Therapies

The thymus gland is an important organ of the immune system and is located in the upper chest. Its main function is to take part in the maturation of T lymphocytes and to regulate the body's immune response against foreign organisms.

The thymus gland secretes various hormones, especially thymosin. These include thymosin alpha 1, thymosin beta 4 and thymosin beta 10. Thymosins play a key role in the development and maturation of T lymphocytes (T cells), which are essential for the immune system.

The role of thymosins can be summarized as follows:

1. T Cell Maturation: Thymosins facilitate the maturation of T cells in the thymus. Immature T cells, known as thymocytes, undergo the process of selection and differentiation under the influence of thymosins.

2. Positive and Negative Selection: Thymosins promote positive selection of T cells that can respond to antigens but do not attack the body's own cells. They also take part in negative selection, eliminating T cells that can damage the body's own tissues.

3. Immunological Tolerance: Thymosins are important for creating immunological self-tolerance. This process ensures that the immune system does not attack its own cells and tissues. Thus, T cells can respond to external threats while tolerating the body's antigens. In this case, it also provides a defense mechanism against the formation of autoimmune diseases.

4. T Cell Proliferation: Thymosins support the proliferation of mature T cells, allowing the production of a diverse and effective immune response. This is vital to the immune system's ability to recognize and fight a wide range of pathogens.

5. Immune System Regulation: Thymus hormones, especially thymosins, contribute to the overall regulation of the immune system. It helps maintain the balance between immune activity and tolerance, ensuring the appropriate response to infections or other challenges.

In summary, thymus gland secretions, especially thymosins, regulate the complex maturation and education process of T cells within the thymus. This is essential for a healthy immune system, which responds effectively to foreign invaders while avoiding attacking the body's own cells.

During childhood and adolescence, the thymus is highly active and produces a variety of T cells. However, its activity decreases with age, resulting in a decrease in T cell production. Thymus secretions, which begin to decline starting from adolescence, decrease significantly as a result of thymus involution in middle age. Involution means the size and effectiveness of the thymus gland decreases. This decline results in decreased immune function and increased susceptibility to infections, contributing to the challenges of aging. That is, after puberty, people become more sensitive to bacteria and viruses and their body defenses become less effective. This is true not only against bacteria and viruses, but also against abnormal cell proliferation, that is, cancer.

Factors such as obesity, the person's genetic structure, toxins, hypothyroidism, and zinc deficiency are the factors that accelerate the process in reducing the effect of the thymus gland. Gradually, problems such as autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular conditions and cancer are not adequately responded to.

Thymosin beta 4 (Thymosin beta 4)

Thymosin Beta-4 (Tβ4) is a peptide hormone related to the immune system and is a type of thymosin that plays a role in processes such as cell migration, differentiation and angiogenesis. Tβ4 has an effect that allows cells to move from one place to another. This feature is very important in tissue repair and regeneration after injury. In addition, thymosin Beta-4 plays a role in promoting the formation of new blood vessels. This feature provides additional assistance to the tissue regeneration and healing process. These functions of Thymosin Beta-4 are specifically related to tissue healing and repair. This hormone plays an effective role not only in the immune system but also in general tissue health and healing processes.

Scientific studies show that Tβ4 administered to patients suffering from heart attack is both effective and safe. While no side effects were observed in the patients, a significant reduction and improvement in the damage caused by the heart attack was observed with Tβ4 supplementation immediately after the heart attack (1). It shows that even in the chronic period after a heart attack, Tβ4 can seriously repair the ischemia damage that occurs at the end of the infarct (2).

Scientific publications, which have observed serious improvement effects on the eyes as well as heart health, show us that Tβ4's area of effect is quite wide. Tβ4, which affects the release of certain cytokines especially in patients with corneal damage, contributes to the re-epithelialization of the cornea, suppresses inflammation and acts against cell death (3).

Studies conducted on mice show that this peptide is quite successful in reducing the tumor size and the rate of spread of cancer in cases of colon cancer (4).

Tβ4, which has also been claimed in chronic kidney diseases, gives positive results in the repair of kidney damage in cases of glomerulonephritis, diabetic nephropathy and hypertensive nephropathy (5).

It has been registered by the FDA under the orphan drug program due to its positive effects on some rare diseases. Many scientific studies have shown that it has a role in Lyme disease, HIV, viral infections, fibromyalgia, allergies, some cancers and autoimmune diseases.

Thymosin Alpha 1 (Thymosin Alpha 1)

TA1, consisting of 28 amino acid components, is a peptide isolated from the thymus gland. This peptide has already been approved for active use in more than 35 countries in Hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV and other disease groups that affect immunity (6).

In addition to its important properties such as suppressing viral replication and cancer, it provides very successful results in regulating antioxidant levels and in cases of chronic fatigue, that is, chronic fatigue syndrome (7).

Since it has been observed in scientific and clinical studies that it increases the effectiveness of vaccines in people with low-functioning immune systems, that is, cancer patients, HIV patients and elderly patients in general, it also appears as a treatment applied alongside vaccines (8).

Its positive effects on the liver can be used especially in cases of toxicity caused by some drugs or in patients receiving chemotherapy as a cancer treatment. But more importantly, it has been shown that it significantly contributes to the recovery rates in liver cancers and extends life in such cancers (9).

In studies conducted on lung cancer patients and also on animal models, it has been determined that thymosin alpha 1 peptide, when used in addition to standard treatments, contributes to patients living longer during treatment and contributes to longer disease-free lives in patients in remission. has been done (10). It has been observed that, together with certain protocols, thymosin alpha 1 peptide can prevent the spread of the tumor and reduce the size of the tumor (11).

In short, although peptide treatments play an active role in disease processes, their potential to prevent the development of certain diseases is a very significant and positive development, as they actually restore us to the immunity level we had in adolescence. The potential to prevent the occurrence of autoimmune diseases, cancer and other chronic diseases that shorten lifespan and reduce the quality of life is an important milestone we have reached in the name of anti-aging.

*** Although peptide treatments are treatments that mimic the amino acid components found in the body under normal conditions and do not have side effects, they are treatments that are applied only by physicians who specialize in anti-aging and are knowledgeable on these issues. These treatments are not FDA approved or guaranteed to extend life. Peptide treatments, which have proven themselves as a result of studies and whose side effect profile is seen as innocent, should be seen as preventive medicine and not as a treatment for diseases. Therefore, people should have such treatments with this awareness.

References:

(1) Goldstein AL, Hannappel E, Sosne G, Kleinman HK. Thymosin β4: A Multi-Functional Regenerative Peptide. Basic Properties and Clinical Applications. Expert Opin Biol Ther (2012) 12:37–51. doi: 10.1517/14712598.2012.634793

(2) Bao W, Ballard VL, Needle S, Hoang B, Lenhard SC, Tunstead JR, et al. Cardioprotection by Systemic Dosing of Thymosin Beta Four Following Ischemic Myocardial Injury. Front Pharmacol (2013) 4:149. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2013.00149

(3) Sosne G, Qiu P, Kurpakus-Wheater M, Matthew H. Thymosin Beta4 and Corneal Wound Healing: Visions of the Future. Ann NY Acad Sci(2010) 1194:190–8. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05472.x

(4) Ricci-Vitiani L, Mollinari C, di Martino S, Biffoni M, Pilozzi E, Pagliuca A, et al.. Thymosin β4 Targeting Impairs Tumorigenic Activity of Colon Cancer Stem Cells. FASEB J (2010) 24:4291–301. doi: 10.1096/fj.10-159970 

(5) Vasilopoulou E, Riley PR, Long DA. Thymosin-β4: A Key Modifier of Renal Disease. Expert Opin Biol Ther (2018) 18:185–92. doi: 10.1080/14712598.2018.1473371

(6) Camerini R, Garaci E. Historical review of thymosin α 1 in infectious diseases. Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2015;15 Suppl 1:S117–S127.

(7) Pica F, Gaziano R, Casalinuovo IA, Moroni G, Buè C, Limongi D, D'Agostini C, Tomino C, Perricone R, Palamara AT, Sinibaldi Vallebona P, Garaci E. Serum thymosin alpha 1 Levels in normal and pathological conditions. Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2018;18:13–21

(8) Carraro G, Naso A, Montomoli E, Gasparini R, Camerini R, Panatto D, Tineo MC, De Giorgi L, Piccirella S, Khadang B, Ceracchi M, De Rosa A. Thymosin-alpha 1 (Zadaxin) enhances the Immunogenicity of an adjuvated pandemic H1N1v influenza vaccine (Focetria) in hemodialyzed patients: a pilot study. Vaccine. 2012;30:1170–1180

(9) Liang YR, Guo Z, Jiang JH, Xiang BD, Li LQ. Thymosin alpha1 therapy subsequent to radical hepatectomy in patients with hepatitis B virus-associated hepatocellular carcinoma: a retrospective controlled study. Oncol Lett. (2016) 12:3513–8. 10.3892/ol.2016.5121

(10) Schulof RS, Lloyd MJ, Cleary PA, Palaszynski SR, Mai DA, Cox JW, Jr, et al.. A randomized trial to evaluate the immunorestorative properties of synthetic thymosin-alpha 1 in patients with lung cancer. J Biol Response Mod. (1985) 4:147–58).

(11) (Wang F, Li B, Fu P, Li Q, Zheng H, Lao X. Immunomodulatory and enhanced antitumor activity of a modified thymosin alpha1 in melanoma and lung cancer. Int J Pharm. (2018) 547:611–20 .10.1016/j.ijpharm.2018.06.041).