Thymulin is a hormone, which is classified under the thymic hormones as it is usually produced by the “thymic epithelial cells.” In this hormone, there is a component known as a nona-peptide, which uses an ion-zinc coupling to be able to transmit any biological activities to that molecule (Lunin, et al., 186). Of late, there has been keen research into whether this hormone can be used as a therapeutic agent.
Thymulin is a hormone that can be classified under the neuro-endocrine system and it possesses immunoregulatory properties. As noted above, Thymulin binds to a carrier protein coupled to Zinc (Zn 2+) to carry out its biological activity. It is a very vital hormone required for the differentiation of the T-lymphocytes and also in the normalization of the T-helper cell to suppressor cell ratio. The recent discoveries have shown that the Thymulin has antinociceptive properties to hyperalgesia and acts on pain that originates from the neurons, via sensory effects, which lead to the release of anti-inflammatory mediators. Because it has anti-inflammatory properties, Thymulin negatively regulates the release of mediators of inflammation like chemokines and cytokines while at the same time positively regulating anti-inflammatory factors such as interleukins like IL-10 among others.
The reason why there is increased research on Thymulin as a therapeutic agent is that it has been shown to have analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects on the CNS and the brain (Haddad, Saade, and Garabedian 336). Many studies have identified Thymulin as being a hypo-psychotropic -peptide. Some extra studies showed that the therapeutic strategy which can be found in the genes’ therapy of Thymulin can be employed to prevent some alterations in the endocrine system and also in the metabolic systems of some animal models which were found out to be deficient of Thymulin (Reggiani, et al, 1216). This paper seeks to investigate the use of Thymulin hormone as a therapeutic agent by assessing different research studies carried out. Another important therapeutic function of Thymulin is in the role it plays in prevention of metabolic as well as endocrine disruptions present in animals that lack thymus in their bodies. Previous researches have also indicated thymulin as being a therapeutic agent in the treatment of lung diseases (Santos, Henriques-Coelho, and Leite-Moreira 136).
Furthermore, in the research projects done so far, a synthetic peptide analog of Thymulin known as (PAT) has been found to exert analgesic properties when in very high concentrations, and these effects were mainly observed in the brain and the central nervous system. In this respect, some drugs have been developed by scientists with the aim of curbing inflammatory effects that are linked to neurodegenerative processes with analogs of Thymulin. Rheumatism is also targeted by these thymin analogs (Reggiani et al., 106).
In one study, aimed at identifying the potential of in Thymulin therapeutic strategies, molecular biology and also in physiology, a number of patients were examined in this case. The patients (9) are those whose T cells and the subsets of the T cells which are found in lymphocytes of their peripheral blood with “rheumatoid arthritis” (RA) and four had SLE “systemic lupus erythematosus”. The SLE patients had some steroid dosage though their diseases were in the initial or acute stages. Of the 9 RA cases, illnesses in 7 of them were active and had neither steroids nor D-penicilamin. In 8 of the RA cases, in vitro incubation of synthetic Thymulin and the lymphocytes were improved for the alterations of the T cells’ subsets which were responsible for the anomalies in the OKT4+/OKT8+ ratios of immunoregulation. The lymphocytes in the SLE patients were not modified. This experiment was aimed at establishing the benefits of Thymulin in treating the rheumatoid arthritis disease (Bach 357).
References
Bach, Joseph. Studies on thymus products. II. Demonstration and characterization of a circulating thymic hormone. Immunology, 25(1973): 353-366.
DeFranco, Antony et al. Immunity. New York, NY: New Science Press, 2007.
Haddad, Jalakhian, Saade, Nelson and Garabedian, Safieh.Thymulin: An emerging anti-inflammatory molecule. Current Medicinal Chemistry – Anti-Inflammatory & Anti-allergy Agents, 4.3(2005):333 -338.
Lunin, Markus et al. Thymulin, a thymic peptide, prevents the overproduction of pro- inflammatory cytokines and heat shock protein Hsp70 in inflammation-bearing mice. Russian Academy of Science, 37.8(2008): 858-870.
Reggiani, Paula et al.The thymus-neuroendocrine axis: physiology, molecular biology, and therapeutic potential of the thymic peptide thymulin. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences1153 (2009): 98–106.
Reggiani, Paula et al.Gene therapy for long-term restoration of circulating thymulin in thymectomized mice and rats. Gene Therapy, 13(2006): 1214–1221.
Santos, Mário, Henriques-Coelho, Tiago and Leite-Moreira, Adelino. Immunomodulatory role of thymulin in lung diseases. Informal Healthcare, 14. 2 (2010):131-141.