This is a working overview of Thymalfasin, written for readers who want more than a one-paragraph summary but less than a textbook.
Reviewed 2026-04-19. Anything still debated is marked as such rather than presented as settled.
胸腺素α1（thymosin alpha 1，Tα1）是一种由28个氨基酸组成的酸性肽，N端被乙酰化，分子量约为3108道尔顿。该肽最早从牛胸腺组织提取物中分离，属于胸腺素组分5的一个成分。其序列在不同哺乳动物中高度保守，提示其具有基本的生物学功能。名称中的“α1”指其在电泳中的迁移位置，并非表示亚型编号。它既存在于胸腺，也存在于脾脏和淋巴结等免疫组织。
20世纪70年代，研究者从胸腺提取物中纯化出多种小肽，Tα1是其中被较早表征的一种。最初的制备依赖组织匀浆和层析步骤，产量低且成分复杂。随着固相肽合成技术成熟，实验室和工业界能够生产与天然序列一致的合成版本。合成肽的纯度可达95%以上，并可通过反相高效液相色谱和质谱进行鉴定。这一转变使研究不再依赖动物胸腺来源。
Thymosin alpha 1 is a synthetic 28-amino-acid peptide first isolated in 1966 from thymosin fraction 5, a bovine thymus extract. Its chain begins with an acetylated serine residue and ends with asparagine. The native peptide carries a molecular mass near 3,108 daltons. Researchers classify it as an immunomodulatory agent rather than a hormone with a single endocrine target. Early work framed it as a thymus-derived factor that supports T-cell maturation. The synthetic form used in research and clinical products matches the natural sequence.
Immune signaling studies link thymosin alpha 1 to Toll-like receptor pathways, particularly TLR2 and TLR9, on dendritic cells and other antigen-presenting cells. Activation of these receptors promotes maturation of T cells and increases natural killer cell activity. The peptide shifts cytokine output toward a T helper 1 profile, raising interferon gamma and interleukin 2 while modulating interleukin 10. Whether these effects translate into clinical benefit for any specific disease remains a subject of debate. Reported outcomes vary across trials and populations.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 化学分类 | 线性肽 | 由28个氨基酸组成 |
| 分子量 | 约3108 Da | 合成版本一致 |
| 外观 | 白色至类白色粉末 | 冻干品 |
| 溶解度 | 易溶于水 | 微溶于有机溶剂 |
| 储存温度 | -20°C（冻干） | 溶解后2-8°C |
Thymosin alpha-1 is a synthetic peptide of 28 amino acid residues that corresponds to a naturally occurring fragment first isolated from thymus tissue. Its chain is acetylated at the amino terminus, a modification that shields the peptide from rapid cleavage by aminopeptidases. The molecule carries a net negative charge at physiological pH and dissolves freely in water. Researchers classify it as an immune-modulating agent rather than a classical hormone, because it acts on several cell types of both the innate and the adaptive immune system.
The peptide was identified during work in the 1970s on thymosin fraction 5, a partially purified extract of calf thymus. Investigators separated that mixture and characterized individual components, one of which they named thymosin alpha-1. The same compound later received the international nonproprietary name thymalfasin. Commercial material is produced by solid-phase peptide synthesis rather than by extraction, so synthetic and natural forms share an identical sequence. Naming conventions vary across the literature, and readers should distinguish the alpha-1 peptide from other thymosins that have unrelated sequences and functions.
Clinical research has examined the peptide in chronic hepatitis B and C, as a vaccine adjuvant, and in sepsis and oncology settings. Findings across trials are mixed; some report changes in selected immune markers, while others find no clear clinical benefit. Many studies are small and define outcomes differently, which limits comparison. Regulatory approval is confined to a few countries, and the compound is not an approved drug in the United States or most of Europe.
Overall evidence quality varies considerably. A large share of published reports come from single centers, rely on surrogate immunological markers, or lack adequate control groups. Systematic reviews have highlighted this heterogeneity as a barrier to pooling results. Open questions include which patients, if any, might benefit, what treatment duration is appropriate, and whether any effect is independent of standard care. The peptide is often described as an immune modulator rather than a therapy for one disease, which complicates confirmatory trial design.
Hydrogen cyanide is a bulk chemical; global production in 2001 was approximately 2.6 million tons. Key derivatives produced from it include adiponitrile, acetone cyanohydrin, sodium cyanide, and cyanuric chloride. Chelating agents are also synthesized from hydrogen cyanide, for example ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid from formaldehyde, ethylenediamine, hydrogen cyanide, and sodium hydroxide. An important industrial route to amino acids is the Strecker synthesis, in which hydrogen cyanide serves as a starting material. A quantitatively important amino acid is methionine, which is produced from acrolein, hydrogen cyanide, and hydrogen sulphide and is used primarily in animal feed.
=== Use in molecular biology === Because RIP is so efficient at detecting and mutating repeats, biologists working on Neurospora crassa have used it as a tool for mutagenesis. A second copy of a single-copy gene is first transformed into the genome. The fungus must then mate and go through its sexual cycle to activate the RIP machinery. Many different mutations within the duplicated gene are obtained from even a single fertilization event so that inactivated alleles, usually due to nonsense mutations, as well as alleles containing missense mutations can be obtained.
Cyclodextrins were called "cellulosine" when first described by A. Villiers in 1891. Soon after, F. Schardinger identified the three naturally occurring cyclodextrins: α, β, and γ, referred to as "Schardinger sugars". For 25 years, between 1911 and 1935, Hans Pringsheim in Germany was the leading researcher in this area, demonstrating that cyclodextrins formed stable aqueous complexes with many other chemicals. By the mid-1970s, each of the natural cyclodextrins had been structurally and chemically characterized and many more complexes had been studied. Since the 1970s, extensive work has been conducted by Szejtli and others exploring encapsulation by cyclodextrins and their derivatives for industrial and pharmacologic applications. Among the processes used for complexation, the kneading process seems to be one of the best.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
The three substrates of this enzyme are 3''-deamino-3''-oxonicotianamine, reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), and a proton. Its products are 2'-deoxymugineic acid and oxidised (NAD+). This enzyme can also use the alternative cofactor, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate. This enzyme belongs to the family of oxidoreductases, specifically those acting on the CH-OH group of donor with NAD+ or NADP+ as acceptor. The systematic name of this enzyme class is 2-deoxymugineic acid:NAD(P)+ 3-oxidoreductase. It is part of the pathway which converts the siderophore, nicotianamine, to other metal-chelating molecules in higher plants. These allow the plant to efficiently take up metals such as zinc and iron from the soil.
== Strep-tag applications == The Strep-tag system offers a selective tool to purify proteins under physiological conditions. The proteins obtained are bioactive and display a very high purity (above 95%). Also, the Strep-tag system can be used for protein detection in various assays. Depending on the experimental circumstances, Strep-tag antibodies or Strep-Tactin, with an enzymatic (e.g.horseradish peroxidase (HRP), alkaline phosphatase (AP)) or fluorescence (e.g. green fluorescent protein (GFP)) marker. If high purity is required, the lysate can be purified by first using Strep-Tactin and then perform a second run using antibodies against Strep-tag. This reduces the contamination with unspecific bound proteins, which might occur in some rare scenarios. Following assays can be conducted using the Strep-tag detection system:
== Partitioning methods == The most common method of measuring amino acid hydrophobicity is partitioning between two immiscible liquid phases. Different organic solvents are most widely used to mimic the protein interior. However, organic solvents are slightly miscible with water and the characteristics of both phases change making it difficult to obtain pure hydrophobicity scale. Nozaki and Tanford proposed the first major hydrophobicity scale for nine amino acids. Ethanol and dioxane are used as the organic solvents and the free energy of transfer of each amino acid was calculated. Non liquid phases can also be used with partitioning methods such as micellar phases and vapor phases. Two scales have been developed using micellar phases. Fendler et al. measured the partitioning of 14 radiolabeled amino acids using sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles. Also, amino acid side chain affinity for water was measured using vapor phases. Vapor phases represent the simplest non polar phases, because it has no interaction with the solute. The hydration potential and its correlation to the appearance of amino acids on the surface of proteins was studied by Wolfenden. Aqueous and polymer phases were used in the development of a novel partitioning scale. Partitioning methods have many drawbacks. First, it is difficult to mimic the protein interior. In addition, the role of self solvation makes using free amino acids very difficult. Moreover, hydrogen bonds that are lost in the transfer to organic solvents are not reformed but often in the interior of protein.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Adrian McKinty (born 1968) is a Northern Irish writer of crime and mystery novels and young adult fiction, best known for his 2019 award-winning thriller, The Chain, and the Sean Duffy novels set in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. He is a winner of the Edgar Award, the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, the Macavity Award, the Ned Kelly Award, the Barry Award, the Audie Award, the Anthony Award and the International Thriller Writers Award. He has been shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière.
In season four, she starts working as a receptionist at the Luncheonette, her uncles' recording studio. At her cousin Victor Graham's baseball game, she meets Ryan York, a young Afghanistan war veteran. The two start a relationship and are shown to be fairly steady for several episodes. However, after a heated argument about his drinking habits and poor decision-making, Amber breaks up with Ryan because he reminds her too much of her own father, who abandoned her family prior to the series. The two reconcile in the fourth-season finale and are shown to be very happy. In the first episode of season five, Ryan proposes to Amber after he returns from a third tour of duty in Afghanistan. She accepts the proposal. He buys her a very expensive engagement ring that she is uncomfortable accepting since he used all his money from the army to purchase it. This leads to tension between the couple. Ryan becomes upset when he feels as though a member of the band that the Luncheonette is recording is flirting with Amber, and when he picks her up from a bar, he gets into a fight with one of the guys, leading to his being arrested. The band decides not to press charges, but Amber is not sure where their relationship stands, especially after Crosby and Adam ask that Ryan not come around the Luncheonette for a while. After a talk with her grandfather, she tells Ryan that she loves him and wants to work through things and have a family with him. However, he tells her that he has reenlisted in the army. He ends their engagement, which leads to Amber going on a bender.
==== Stages of genital development ==== The first stage occurs roughly four weeks before the spider's final molt. Unlike adult males, young males possess a broad tarsus that does not appear to consist of any internal structures or appendages. Their pedipalps are greatly bent at a joint connecting the between the tibia and patella. The testes at this point in the young male's life appear very similar to those of the adult males both in terms of physical structure and presence of all stages of spermatogenesis. This spermatogenesis takes place in cysts which contain spermatids. During this time, there is very little observable secretory activity in the testes. In a similar manner to the adult genital system, the vas deferens in young males is connected to the distal, thin part of the testis. The distal portion of the vas deferens is incredibly narrow and is not characterized by the presence of spermatozoa or other secretions. On the other hand, the proximal region consists of a thick epithelium and intricate luminal region containing spermatozoa. The second stage of development is observed two weeks prior the spider's final molt. At this point, the pedipalps of the spider are only partially bent, and the internal structures of the tarsus can be seen. The testes are dimensionally very similar to those of subadult stage one males and adult males. The distal portion of the vas deferens becomes thinner and twists in a tube-like shape. Spermatozoa and other secretions are extensively present in proximal portion of the vas deferens.
The EFSA UL for adults is set at 10 mg/day for nicotinic acid to avoid the skin flush reaction, and 900 mg/day for nicotinamide that doesn't cause flushing. Both the DRI and DRV describe amounts needed as niacin equivalents (NE), calculated as 1 mg NE = 1 mg niacin or 60 mg of the essential amino acid tryptophan. This is because the amino acid is utilized to synthesize the vitamin. For U.S. food and dietary supplement labeling purposes, the amount in a serving is expressed as a percent of Daily Value (%DV). For niacin labeling purposes 100% of the Daily Value is 16 mg. Prior to May 27, 2016, it was 20 mg, revised to bring it into agreement with the RDA. Compliance with the updated labeling regulations was required by January 1, 2020, for manufacturers with US$10 million or more in annual food sales, and by January 1, 2021, for manufacturers with lower volume food sales. A table of the old and new adult daily values is provided at Reference Daily Intake.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
它不是经典的内分泌激素，而是一种免疫调节肽。其作用主要通过局部免疫细胞间的信号传递实现，而非经血液循环作用于远隔器官。
天然胸腺素α1主要从胸腺组织提取，也可在脾脏和淋巴结中检出。目前研究和临床使用的多为化学合成版本，不再依赖动物组织。
胸腺素组分5是牛胸腺提取物的粗组分，包含多种肽。胸腺素α1是其中一种被纯化和表征的单一肽，具有明确的28个氨基酸序列。
It is a chain of 28 amino acids, with an acetyl group attached to the first serine residue. The synthetic version replicates this sequence. Its molecular mass is about 3,108 daltons.