Thymalin: Activation of Differentiation of Human Hematopoietic Stem Cells.
Khavinson. V Kh VK; Linkova. N S NS; Kvetnoy. I M IM; Polyakova. V O VO; Drobintseva. A O AO; Kvetnaia. T V TV; Ivko. O M OM
Key Findings
- Thymalin lowered expression of CD44 and CD117, which are markers of stem‑cell immaturity, by 2‑3‑fold.
- Thymalin raised CD28 expression on T‑cells by about 6.8‑fold, indicating more mature, antiviral‑capable lymphocytes.
- The authors suggest thymalin could help restore immune function in severe COVID‑19 where T‑cell numbers drop.
Practical Outcomes
- For self‑experimenters, thymalin appears to be an immune‑modulating peptide that may enhance T‑cell maturation, potentially offering some protection against viral infections. However, the paper does not provide dosing, safety, or real‑world administration details, so any use would be exploratory and should be approached with caution.
Summary
The study shows that the peptide thymalin can push early‑stage blood stem cells to become mature T‑cells that are important for fighting viruses like COVID‑19. It cuts down markers of immature cells and boosts a marker (CD28) linked to strong immune responses.
Abstract
Thymalin is a polypeptide complex isolated from the thymus and regulating the functions of the immune system. Thymalin is effective in therapy of acute respiratory syndrome, chronic obstructive bronchitis, and other immunopathology. Thymalin increases functional activity of T lymphocytes, but the targeted molecular mechanism of its biological activity requires further study. We studied the influence of thymalin on differentiation of human hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) and expression of CD28 molecule involved in the implementation of antiviral immunity in COVID-19 infection. It was found that thymalin reduced the expression of CD44 (stem cell marker) and CD117 (molecule of the intermediate stage of HSC differentiation) by 2-3 times and increased the expression of CD28 (marker of mature T lymphocytes) by 6.8 times. This indirectly indicates that thymalin stimulated differentiation of CD117<sup>+</sup> cells into mature CD28<sup>+</sup>T lymphocytes. It is known that in patients with severe COVID-19, the number of CD28<sup>+</sup>, CD4<sup>+</sup>, CD8<sup>+</sup>T lymphocytes in the blood decreased, which attested to a pronounced suppression of immunity. It is possible that the antiviral effect of thymalin consists in compensatory stimulation of HSC differentiation into CD28<sup>+</sup>T lymphocytes at the stage of immunity suppression in unfavorable course of viral infection. Thymalin can be considered as an immunoprotective peptide drug for the prevention of COVID-19.
Study Information
pubmed
2020
2020-11-25T00:00:00.000Z
10.1007/s10517-020-05016-z
6
15