Decrease of tumor growth in mice after intravenous thymosin-treated bone marrow cell injection.
Cupissol. D D; Rey. A A; Goldstein. A L AL; Serrou. B B
Key Findings
- Bone‑marrow cells pre‑treated with thymosin‑alpha‑1 reduced tumor growth in mice
- Thymosin‑alpha‑1 was effective at 1/20 the dose needed for thymosin fraction V
- Theophylline and levamisole showed no anti‑tumor effect in this model
Practical Outcomes
- The result hints that thymosin‑alpha‑1 might boost immune cells to fight tumors, but the study used a very specific cell‑transfer method in mice, not a simple peptide supplement. For biohackers, there’s no clear, safe protocol to try this for longevity or performance, and more human research is needed before any practical use.
Summary
In a mouse study, bone‑marrow cells that were briefly soaked in the peptide thymosin‑alpha‑1 were injected into the bloodstream and they slowed down the growth of a cancer tumor and helped the mice live longer. The same effect was seen with a larger thymosin mixture, but the pure peptide worked at a much lower dose. Similar drugs that looked promising in lab tests didn’t help in the mice.
Abstract
The effect of iv injection in C57BL/6 mice of 3X10(7) bone marrow cells preincubated in either thymosin fraction V or thymosin alpha-1 was evaluated on the growth of a 3-methylcholanthrene-induced transplantable tumor in a syngeneic system. The effect was then compared to that elicited by theophylline or levamisole, which both demonstrated thymosin-like action in vitro. The results showed significantly retarded tumor growth (P less than 0.001) and prolonged survival time (P less than 0.001) when thymosin fraction V was used. The same results were obtained with thymosin alpha-1 with use of the same protocol but only one-twentieth of the concentration of fraction V. Theophylline and levamisole demonstrated no antitumor effect.
Study Information
pubmed
1982