In mice with an autoimmune thyroid disease, the peptide thymosin‑alpha‑1 changed immune cell balances in a dose‑ and timing‑dependent way, sometimes worsening the disease in resistant strains and sometimes reducing it in sensitive strains.

The effects of Ta-1, a peptide constituent of thymosin fraction 5, were studied on murine autoimmune thyroiditis using two congenic strains of mice, B10.Br (Br) and B10.D2 (D2), which are sensitive and resistant to experimental autoimmune thyroiditis (EAT) induction, respectively. EAT was induced by either 2 weekly iv injections of mouse thyroglobulin with adjuvant lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or intradermal injection of thyroglobulin mixed with complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). The criteria for induction and intensity of thyroiditis were the level of lymphoid infiltration in the thyroid gland and the titer of anti-thyroglobulin antibodies. Ta-1 was given in 5 or 10 daily sc injections in doses ranging from 0.0001 to 0.1 microgram/injection. The injections were commenced at varying intervals from the 1st to the 4th week after immunization. T-Cell subsets in the spleens were determined 2 weeks after the first antigen injection and thyroid infiltration was determined 3 weeks later. Treatment with Ta-1 between the two antigen injections increased the level of thyroiditis in resistant mice, but had no effect in sensitive mice. Treatment for the first 2 weeks had similar effects in resistant mice, but also suppressed thyroiditis in the sensitive strain. Later treatments, during the 3rd and 4th weeks after immunization also revealed immunomodulating properties of Ta-1, with a suppressing effect on thyroiditis in sensitive mice and an enhancing effect in the resistant strain. Both effects of Ta-1 were dose dependent. The effects of Ta-1 on the individual phenotypes were also dose dependent. The dose of 0.01 microgram greatly lowered the percentages of Lyt-2+3+ cells in D2 mice and mildly increased the percentages in Br mice, but did not change the Lyt-1+ cell level in either strain. On the other hand, the dose of 0.001 microgram greatly increased the percentage of Lyt-1+ cells in D2 mice and mildly decreased it in the Br strain, but did not alter the Lyt-2+3+ cell subset in either strain. Thus, both doses of Ta-1 modulated Lyt-1+/2+3+ ratios, with each dose affecting a different T-cell subset. The changes in the response to thyroglobulin are apparently exerted through the regulation of the functional T-cell subset balance.