In a mouse study, giving thymosin‑alpha‑1 together with radiation lowered death rates and reduced lung damage compared to radiation alone, showing it can protect the lungs from radiation‑induced injury.

Radiation-induced lung injure is one of the major factors of limitation in radiotherapy for lung cancer. Whether the use of thymosin and radiotherapy simultaneously would increase the radiation-induced lung injure is unclear. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of thymosin alpha-1 on radiation induced pneumonitis in mice. Three groups of mice, control (C), radiation alone (RT), thymosin alpha-1 plus radiation (T+RT), were entered into the study. The weight and mortality of mice, pleural effusion, quantity of protein and cell count in the bronchoalvealar lavage (BAL) and pulmonary fibrosis score were evaluated as the outcome measures. The mortality ratio of the T+RT and RT groups were 3/14, 2/10, respectively. The time of death were all in the 23-24 weeks after radiotherapy. There was no pleural effusion in the T+RT group other than 2/2 occurred in RT group. The quantity of protein, cell number and neutrophil number in the BAL and lung coefficient in mice of T+RT group were remarkably lower than that of RT group, but the BALF macrophages number was remarkably higher than that in RT group in the 8 weeks. The quantity of protein, cell number, neutrophil number and macrophages number in the BAL, lung coefficient, the scores of lung fibrosis in mice of T+RT group were significantly lower than that of RT group in the 24 weeks. All test data were lowest in mice of C group. And there was no obvious pulmonary fibrosis in the mice of C group. Thymosin alpha-1 could relieve radiation-induced acute and late pulmonary injuries.