Thymosin alpha 1 is one of those subjects where the details matter more than the headlines. This page pulls together the background, the mechanisms, and the practical points readers ask about most.
Last reviewed on 2025-10-13. Where a claim depends on a specific study, the study is described rather than over-claimed.
The peptide occurs naturally in thymic tissue and has been detected in serum and other biological fluids. Reported concentrations are low, and reliable measurement generally requires immunoassay or mass spectrometry with an enrichment step. It is released from a larger precursor, prothymosin alpha, by proteolytic cleavage, although the enzymes involved are not fully characterized. Whether circulating levels reflect thymic output specifically remains an open question.
Thymosin alpha 1 is a 28-amino-acid peptide first isolated from thymosin fraction 5, a bovine thymic extract. Its sequence begins with an acetylated serine residue and carries a high proportion of acidic residues, so the molecule has a net negative charge near neutral pH. Despite the shared name, it is unrelated in sequence to the thymosin beta family. Synthetic material prepared by solid-phase peptide synthesis is identical in sequence to the natural peptide.
Several names appear in the literature for this peptide, including thymalfasin and the abbreviation T-alpha-1. Naming conventions differ among research articles, regulatory documents, and supplier catalogs, which complicates literature searches. Both synthetic and recombinant production routes yield a peptide with the same 28-residue sequence as the thymic isolate. Because the thymosin label also covers unrelated peptides, sources should be compared by sequence rather than by name alone.
Thymosin alpha 1 is approved as a medicine in several countries, including Italy and China, for indications such as chronic hepatitis B and as an immune adjuvant. It is not approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration as a therapeutic product. In research settings the peptide appears in studies of sepsis, vaccine response, and oncology support, often with mixed or inconclusive results. The evidence base is uneven, and reviews note that many trials were small. Regulatory status therefore differs widely between jurisdictions.
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.
| Property | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular formula | C129H215N33O55 | Calculated for the acetylated 28-residue peptide |
| Appearance | White to off-white powder | Lyophilized solid recovered from aqueous buffer |
| Solubility | Freely soluble in water | Typically dissolved in water or buffer before use |
| Typical storage | -20 C or below, desiccated | Protect from light and avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles |
| Identity testing | Reverse-phase HPLC with mass spectrometry | Retention time and measured mass confirm the sequence |
=== Names === Etilefrine is the generic name of the drug and its INNTooltip International Nonproprietary Name and BANTooltip British Approved Name, while étiléfrine is its DCFTooltip Dénomination Commune Française and etilefrina is its DCITTooltip Denominazione Comune Italiana. In the case of the hydrochloride salt, its generic name is etilefrine hydrochloride and this is its BANMTooltip British Approved Name and JANTooltip Japanese Accepted Name. Synonyms of etilefrine include ethylnorphenylephrine, ethylphenephrine, etiladrianol, aethyladrianol, and M-I-36. Brand names of the drug include Effortil, Circupon, Apocretin, Palsamin, Kertasin, Pressoton, Effoless, and Sanlephrin.
The swing of 28.5% is the second largest swing from Conservative to Labour at a by-election since the Second World War. Labour's Damien Egan overturns an 11,220 Conservative majority in Kingswood to win Chris Skidmore's former seat. Atiqul Hoque, the Conservative mayor of Salisbury, is expelled from the Conservative Party over antisemitic remarks made on social media and WhatsApp. 16 February – The Labour Party releases a summary of the tax paid by Sir Keir Starmer during 2023, showing he paid just under £100,000 in tax. The ballot to elect the next leader of Welsh Labour opens. Craig Browne resigns as deputy leader of Cheshire East Council, saying he can no longer afford to do the role on the £30,000 annual salary. 17 February – Delegates at the Scottish Labour Party conference pass a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. 18 February – Henry Staunton, the former chairman of the Post Office, tells The Sunday Times that Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch told him "Someone's got to take the rap" when he was dismissed from the post. In response Badenoch describes his comments as a "disgraceful misrepresentation" of their conversation. Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer calls for a "ceasefire that lasts" in Gaza. 19 February – GOV.UK updates the Royal Cypher Crown, replacing Queen Elizabeth IIs St Edward's Crown with the Tudor Crown used by King Charles III.
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Camurus' FluidCrystal are available as injectable depots and topical bioadhesive delivery technologies. By encapsulating the drug compound in the nanostructures, injectable depots are able to deliver therapeutic levels of drug substance over extended periods from a single injection. This leads to a decrease in traditional side effects associated with high initial drug release on injection (drug burst), poor drug stability, and complex processing requirements, making the system highly suitable for sustained parental delivery of peptides, proteins, and small molecule drug compounds. The topical delivery system creates a bio-adhesive film that provides local and continual release of drug compounds. The delivery system is suited for delivery of peptide, protein, and small molecule drug compounds and can be applied to dermal, buccal, ophthalmic, nasal, vaginal, and other topical surfaces.
=== Organoberkelium compounds === Berkelium forms a trigonal (η5–C5H5)3Bk metallocene complex with three cyclopentadienyl rings, which can be synthesized by reacting berkelium(III) chloride with the molten beryllocene (Be(C5H5)2) at about 70 °C. It has an amber color and a density of 2.47 g/cm3. The complex is stable to heating to at least 250 °C, and sublimates without melting at about 350 °C. The high radioactivity of berkelium gradually destroys the compound (within a period of weeks). One cyclopentadienyl ring in (η5–C5H5)3Bk can be substituted by chlorine to yield [Bk(C5H5)2Cl]2. The optical absorption spectra of this compound are very similar to those of (η5–C5H5)3Bk. Berkelium also forms berkelocene, an actinocene complex, with substituted cyclooctatetraenides.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
== Metabolism == When evaluated by in vitro studies, the metabolism of dalbavancin was minimally impacted by the human hepatic CYP450 system. Further investigations with either inducers or inhibitors of this enzyme system demonstrated no changes in the elimination or clearance of dalbavancin, and the metabolism of model compounds of these CYP systems was not altered by the dalbavancin. Hydroxy-dalbavancin, a minor metabolite that has only been identified in urine, was also not changed in its formation or elimination with these enzyme models.
==== In media ==== In the 1998 Chinese movie The Great Military March Forward: Engulf the Southwest, Liu was played by actor Yang Ciyu. In the 2009 Chinese historical drama The Founding of a Republic, Liu was played by filmmaker John Woo, but his role was cut from the final film.
==== United States 1909–1912, 1924–1925, & 1936–1937 ==== During the period of Jung's collaboration with Freud, both visited the US in 1909 to lecture at Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts, where both were awarded honorary degrees. In 1912, Jung gave a series of lectures at Fordham University, New York, which were published later in the year as Psychology of the Unconscious. Jung made a more extensive trip westward in the winter of 1924–25, financed and organized by Fowler McCormick and George Porter. Of particular value to Jung was a visit with Chief Mountain Lake of the Taos Pueblo near Taos, New Mexico. Jung made another trip to America in 1936, receiving an honorary degree at Harvard, and giving lectures in New York and New England for his growing group of American followers. He returned in 1937 to deliver the Terry Lectures at Yale University, later published as Psychology and Religion.
The first two roll-on/roll-off ferry berths in the Eastern Docks were opened on 30 June 1953. The first ro-ro ferry, the appropriately modified British Railways' SS Dinard, departed for Boulogne on 3 July 1953. Today, there are seven active docks for Ro-Ro vessels to utilise at Dover, one deconstructed dock and one unused dock for high-speed Ro-Ro watercraft. In 1966 well over 600,000 accompanied vehicles travelled through Dover's Eastern Docks en route to France or Belgium.
== Buildings == The department spans three buildings. The main departmental building, finished in 1927 (architect Edward Warren) is situated on Tennis Court Road and the nearby Molteno Institute. Both are situated on the Downing Site in central Cambridge. The third location is part of the main hospital building at Addenbrooke's Hospital on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
It is a 28-amino-acid peptide originally purified from a bovine thymic extract and later produced synthetically. It is studied mainly for its effects on immune cell function.
No. The two peptides share part of a name but differ in length, sequence, and net charge. Literature searches that treat them as one compound return misleading results.
Solid-phase peptide synthesis is the usual route, and recombinant expression has also been described. Both approaches produce material matching the natural sequence.
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.