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Thymosin α1 continues to show promise as an enhancer for vaccine response
Author(s) -
Tuthill Cynthia,
Rios Israel,
De Rosa Alfonso,
Camerini Roberto
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012.06680.x
Subject(s) - immune system , vaccination , cytotoxic t cell , immunology , antibody response , thymosin , medicine , virology , pandemic , outbreak , biology , covid-19 , in vitro , disease , infectious disease (medical specialty) , biochemistry
Thymosin α1 (Tα1) is an immune‐modulating peptide that can be expected to improve response to vaccinations, as stimulated dendritic cells and T cells can act in concert to increase antibody production along with an improved cytotoxic response from the T cells themselves. Tα1 demonstrated efficacy in preclinical studies; subsequently, it was shown to enhance response to vaccinations in difficult‐to‐treat populations, including individuals immune suppressed due to age or hemodialysis, and leading to a decrease in later infections. During the 2009 pandemic outbreak of H1N1 influenza, mouse and ferret studies confirmed that the use of higher doses of Tα1 allowed for fewer injections than those used in the previous clinical studies. In addition, a clinical study with Focetria™ MF59‐adjuvanted monovalent H1N1 vaccine showed that treatment with Tα1 twice provided an earlier and greater response to the vaccine ( P < 0.01).