Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Dec 21:12:767785.
doi: 10.3389/fendo.2021.767785. eCollection 2021.

Progress on the Function and Application of Thymosin β4

Yuan Xing  1   2 , Yumeng Ye  1 , Hongyan Zuo  1 , Yang Li  1   3
Affiliations
Review

Progress on the Function and Application of Thymosin β4

Yuan Xing et al. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). .

Abstract

Thymosin β4 (Tβ4) is a multifunctional and widely distributed peptide that plays a pivotal role in several physiological and pathological processes in the body, namely, increasing angiogenesis and proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis and inflammation. Moreover, Tβ4 is effectively utilized for several indications in animal experiments or clinical trials, such as myocardial infarction and myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury, xerophthalmia, liver and renal fibrosis, ulcerative colitis and colon cancer, and skin trauma. Recent studies have reported the potential application of Tβ4 and its underlying mechanisms. The present study reveals the progress regarding functions and applications of Tβ4.

Keywords: angiogenesis; apoptosis; inflammation; signaling pathway; thymosin β4; tissue repair.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Tβ4 regulates various signaling pathways. Tβ4 ameliorates inflammatory damage by regulating NF-κB and Toll-like receptor pathways. During tissue repair, Tβ4 regulates PI3K/Akt/eNOS and Notch pathways. In addition, Tβ4 regulates TGF-β pathway to alleviate fibrosis and Wnt pathway to promote hair follicle formation. Tβ4 also regulates apoptosis pathway to inhibit apoptosis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Zisblatt M, Goldstein AL, Lilly F, White A. Acceleration by Thymosin of the Development of Resistance to Murine Sarcoma Virus-Induced Tumor in Mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (1970) 66:1170–4. doi: 10.1073/pnas.66.4.1170 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Huff T, Müller CS, Otto AM, Netzker R, Hannappel E. Beta-Thymosins, Small Acidic Peptides With Multiple Functions. Int J Biochem Cell Biol (2001) 33:205–20. doi: 10.1016/S1357-2725(00)00087-X - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hannappel E, Huff T. The Thymosins. Prothymosin Alpha, Parathymosin, and Beta-Thymosins: Structure and Function. Vitam Horm (2003) 66:257–96. doi: 10.1016/S0083-6729(03)01007-0 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Goldstein AL, Hannappel E, Kleinman HK. Thymosin β4: Actin-Sequestering Protein Moonlights to Repair Injured Tissues. Trends Mol Med (2005) 11:421–9. doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2005.07.004 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Goldstein AL, Slater FD, White A. Preparation, Assay, and Partial Purification of a Thymic Lymphocytopoietic Factor (Thymosin). Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (1966) 56:1010–7. doi: 10.1073/pnas.56.3.1010 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources