Abstract
Thymosin alpha-1 (TA1) is one of a family of peptides with immunoregulatory activities which occur naturally in thymic tissues (1). TA1 is an acidic 28 amino acid molecule that is biologically active in a number of in vitro and in vivo assays; it is highly conserved among mammalian species and is available as a chemically-defined synthetic preparation. Detectable levels of TA1 are found in the serum of normal individuals (2). Due to the immunoregulatory properties of thymic peptides, there is current interest in their possible use in the treatment of chronic diseases, including Type B hepatitis (3). In a preliminary report, Mutchnick, et al. (4) described the possible efficacy of thymosin fraction 5 and TA1 in the treatment of patients with chronic active hepatitis due to hepatitis B virus (HBV). The purpose of the current study was to evaluate TA1 in an animal model system of HBV infection and disease.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Goldstein, A.L., Low, T.L.K., McAdoo, M., et al., Thymosin alpha 1: isolation and sequence analysis of an immunologically active thymic polypeptide, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 74:725–729 (1977).
McClure, J.E., Lameris, N., Wara, D.W., and Goldstein, A.L., Immunochemical studies on thymosin: radioimmunoassay of thymosin alpha-1, J. Immunol. 128:368–375 (1982).
Eichberg, J.W., Seeff, L.B., Lawlor, D.L., Buskell-Bales, Z., Ishak, K., Hoofnagle, J.H., Goldstein, A.L., and Langloss, J.M., Effect of thymosin immunostimulation with and without corticosteroid immunosuppression on chimpanzee hepatitis B carriers, J. Med. Virol. 21:25–37 (1987).
Mutchnick, M.G., Lee, H.H., Haynes, G.D., Hoffnagle, J.H., and Appelman, H.O., Thymosin treatment of chronic active hepatitis B (CAHB): a preliminary report on a controlled double blind study, Hepatology 8:1270 (1988).
Gerin, J.L., Cote, P.J., Korba, B.E., and Tennant, B.C., Hepadnavirus-induced liver cancer in woodchucks, Cancer Detection and Prevention 14:227–229 (1989).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gerin, J.L., Korba, B.E., Cote, P.J., Tennant, B.C. (1992). A Preliminary Report of a Controlled Study of Thymosin Alpha-1 in the Woodchuck Model of Hepadnavirus Infection. In: Block, T.M., Jungkind, D., Crowell, R.L., Denison, M., Walsh, L.R. (eds) Innovations in Antiviral Development and the Detection of Virus Infections. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 312. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3462-4_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3462-4_11
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-6533-4
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-3462-4
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive