Thymopoietin to thymopentin: experimental studies

Abstract

Thymopoietin is a polypeptide hormone of the thymus consisting of 49 amino acids. The pentapeptide thymopentin (TP-5) Arg-Lys-Asp-Val-Tyr, corresponding to amino acids 32-36 of thymopoietin, appears to represent the active site of thymopoietin in that it has all the biological activities of the native hormone. Thymopoietin is secreted by epithelial cells of the thymus and is pleiotropic in action, affecting neuromuscular transmission, induction of early T cell differentiation and immune regulation. The immuno-regulatory actions of thymopentin on peripheral T cells are mediated by intracellular cyclic GMP elevations in contrast to the intracellular cyclic AMP elevations induced in precursor T cells that trigger their further differentiation to T cells. Thymopoietin and thymopentin have the biological characteristics of being immunonormalizing in a number of animal model systems of immune dysbalance. These include immune dysbalances induced by thymectomy or the thymic involution associated with aging or by other procedures in thymus-intact animals. The normalizing action of thymopentin, whether the immune dysbalance be in the direction of hyper- or hyporesponsiveness, points to its potential utility in human diseases characterized by immune dysbalance.