Thymosin α1 and cancer: Action on immune effector and tumor target cells

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

Volumn 1269, Issue 1, 2012, Pages 26-33

  Garaci, Enrico ^a   Pica, Francesca ^a   Serafino, Annalucia ^b   Balestrieri, Emanuela ^a   Matteucci, Claudia ^a   Moroni, Gabriella ^a   Sorrentino, Roberta ^a   Zonfrillo, Manuela ^b   Pierimarchi, Pasquale ^b   Sinibaldi Vallebona, Paola ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ROME TOR VERGATA   (Italy)

^b INSTITUTE OF TRANSLATIONAL PHARMACOLOGY   (Italy)

Author keywords

Cancer; Immune effector cells; Thymosin 1; Tumor antigens

Indexed keywords

ALPHA INTERFERON; CISPLATIN; DACARBAZINE; THYMOSIN ALPHA1;

ANTINEOPLASTIC ACTIVITY; ARTICLE; CANCER COMBINATION CHEMOTHERAPY; DENDRITIC CELL; DRUG MECHANISM; EFFECTOR CELL; HUMAN; LOW DRUG DOSE; LUNG NON SMALL CELL CANCER; MELANOMA; METASTATIC MELANOMA; NATURAL KILLER CELL; NEOPLASM; NONHUMAN; PLEIOTROPY; TARGET CELL; TUMOR CELL;

EID: 84867384357     PISSN: 00778923     EISSN: 17496632     Source Type: Book Series    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2012.06697.x     Document Type: Article

References (51)

1. Goldstein, A.L., A. Guha, M.M. Zatz, et al 1972. Purification and biological activity of thymosin, a hormone of the thymus gland. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 69: 1800-1803.
2. Goldstein, A.L. & A.L. Goldstein 2009. From lab to bedside: emerging clinical applications of thymosin alpha 1. Expert. Opin. Biol. Ther. 9: 593-608.
3. Chretien, P.B., S.D. Lipson, R. Makuch, et al 1978. Thymosin in cancer patients: in vitro effects and correlations with clinical response to thymosin immunotherapy. Cancer Treat. Rep. 62: 1787-1790.
4. Schulof, R.S., M.J. Lloyd, P.A. Cleary, et al 1985. A randomized trial to evaluate the immunorestorative properties of synthetic thymosin-alpha 1 in patients with lung cancer. J. Biol. Response Mod. 4: 147-158.
5. Giuliani, C., G. Napolitano, A. Mastino, et al 2000. Thymosin-alpha1 regulates MHC class I expression in FRTL-5 cells at transcriptional level. Eur. J. Immunol. 30: 778-786.
6. Ahmed, A., D.M. Wong, G.B. Thurman, et al 1979. T-lymphocyte maturation: cell surface markers and immune function induced by T-lymphocyte cell-free products and thymosin polypeptides. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 332: 81-94.
7. Knutsen, A.P., J.J. Freeman, K.R. Mueller, et al 1999. Thymosin-alpha1 stimulates maturation of CD34+ stem cells into CD3+4+ cells in an in vitro thymic epithelia organ coculture model. Int. J. Immunopharmacol. 21: 15-26.
8. Favalli, C., T. Jezzi, A. Mastino, et al 1985. Modulation of natural killer activity by thymosin alpha 1 and interferon. Cancer Immunol. Immunother. 20: 189-192.
9. Romani, L., F. Bistoni, R. Gaziano, et al 2004. Thymosin alpha 1 activates dendritic cells for antifungal Th1 resistance through toll-like receptor signaling. Blood 103: 4232-4239.
10. Kabelitz, D., D. Wesch & H.H. Oberg 2006. Regulation of regulatory T cells: role of dendritic cells and toll-like receptors. Crit. Rev. Immunol. 26: 291-306.
11. Zhang, Y., H. Chen, Y.M. Li, et al 2008. Thymosin alpha 1- and ulinastatin-based immunomodulatory strategy for sepsis arising from intra-abdominal infection due to carbapenem-resistant bacteria. J. Infect. Dis. 198: 723-730.
12. Thurman, G.B., C. Seals, T.L. Low & A.L. Goldstein 1984. Restorative effects of thymosin polypeptides on purified protein derivative-dependent migration inhibition factor production by the peripheral blood lymphocytes of adult thymectomized guinea pigs. J. Biol. Response Mod. 3: 160-173.
13. Ohta, Y., E. Tezuka, S. Tamura & Y. Yagi 1985. Thymosin alpha 1 exerts protective effect against the 5-FU induced bone marrow toxicity. Int. J. Immunopharmacol. 7: 761-768.
14. Ohta, Y., S. Tamura, S. Nihira, et al 1986. Thymosin alpha 1 enhances haemopoietic colony formation by stimulating the production of interleukin 3 in nu/nu mice. Int. J. Immunopharmacol. 8: 773-779.
15. Kouttab, N.M., A.L. Goldstein, M. Lu, et al 1988. Production of human B and T cell growth factors is enhanced by thymic hormones. Immunopharmacology 16: 97-105.
16. Huang, K.Y., P.D. Kind, E.M. Jagoda & A.L. Goldstein 1981. Thymosin treatment modulates production of interferon. J. Interferon. Res. 1: 411-420.
17. Shoham, J., M. Cohen, Y. Chandali & A. Avni 1980. Thymic hormonal activity on human peripheral blood lymphocytes, in vitro. I. Reciprocal effect on T and B rosette formation. Immunology 41: 353-359.
18. Svedersky, L.P., A. Hui, L. May, et al 1982. Induction and augmentation of mitogen-induced immune interferon production in human peripheral blood lymphocytes by N alpha-desacetylthymosin alpha 1. Eur. J. Immunol. 12: 244-247.
19. Sztein, M.B. & S.A. Serrate 1989. Characterization of the immunoregulatory properties of thymosin alpha 1 on interleukin-2 production and interleukin-2 receptor expression in normal human lymphocytes. Int. J. Immunopharmacol. 11: 789-800.
20. Sztein, M.B., S.A. Serrate & A.L. Goldstein 1986. Modulation of interleukin 2 receptor expression on normal human lymphocytes by thymic hormones. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 83: 6107-6111.
21. Leichtling, K.D., S.A. Serrate & M.B. Sztein 1990. Thymosin alpha 1 modulates the expression of high affinity interleukin-2 receptors on normal human lymphocytes. Int. J. Immunopharmacol. 12: 19-29.
22. Serrate, S.A., R.S. Schulof, L. Leondaridis, et al 1987. Modulation of human natural killer cell cytotoxic activity, lymphokine production, and interleukin 2 receptor expression by thymic hormones. J. Immunol. 139: 2338-2343.
23. Garaci, E., A. Mastino, F. Pica & C. Favalli 1990. Combination treatment using thymosin alpha 1 and interferon after cyclophosphamide is able to cure Lewis lung carcinoma in mice. Cancer Immunol. Immunother. 32: 154-160.
24. Mastino, A., C. Favalli, S. Grelli, et al 1992. Combination therapy with thymosin alpha 1 potentiates the antitumor activity of interleukin-2 with cyclophosphamide in the treatment of the Lewis lung carcinoma in mice. Int. J. Cancer 50: 493-499.
25. Garaci, E., F. Pica, A. Mastino, et al 1993. Antitumor effect of thymosin alpha 1/interleukin-2 or thymosin alpha 1/interferon alpha, beta following cyclophosphamide in mice injected with highly metastatic Friend erythroleukemia cells. J. Immunother. Emphasis Tumor Immunol. 13: 7-17.
26. Pica, F., M. Fraschetti, C. Matteucci, et al 1998. High doses of Thymosin alpha 1 enhance the antitumor efficacy of combination chemo-immunotherapy for murine B16 melanoma. Anticancer Res. 18: 3571-3578.
27. Rasi, G., G. Silecchia, P. Sinibaldi-Vallebona, et al 1994. Antitumor effect of combined treatment with thymosin alpha 1 and interleukin-2 after 5-fluorouracil in liver metastases from colorectal cancer in rats. Int. J. Cancer 57: 701-705.
28. Garaci, E., M. Lopez, G. Bonsignore, et al 1995. Sequential chemoimmunotherapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer using cisplatin, etoposide, thymosin alpha 1 and interferon-alpha 2a. Eur. J. Cancer 13/14: 2403-2405.
29. Salvati, F., G. Rasi, L. Portalone, et al 1996. Combined treatment with thymosin alpha 1 and low dose interferon alpha after ifosfamide in non-small cell lung cancer: a phase II controlled trial. Anticancer Res. 16: 1001-1004.
30. Rasi, G., E. Terzoli, F. Izzo, et al 2000. Combined treatment with thymosinalpha1 and low dose interferon-alpha after dacarbazine in advanced melanoma. Melanoma Res. 10: 189-192.
31. Maio, M., A. Mackiewicz, A. Testori, et al 2010. Thymosin Melanoma Investigation Group Large randomized study of thymosin alpha 1, interferon alfa, or both in combination with dacarbazine in patients with metastatic melanoma. J. Clin. Oncol. 28: 1780-1787.
32. Wolf, E., S. Milazzo, K. Boehm, et al 2011. Thymic peptides for treatment of cancer patients. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 16: 1-61.
33. Shrivastava, P., S.M. Singh & N. Singh 2004. Effect of thymosin alpha 1 on the antitumor activity of tumor-associated macrophage-derived dendritic cells. J. Biomed. Sci. 11: 623-630.
34. Shrivastava, P., S.M. Singh & N. Singh 2005. Antitumor activation of peritoneal macrophages by thymosin alpha-1. Cancer Invest. 23: 316-322.
35. Peng, X., P. Zhang, X. Wang, et al 2007. Signaling pathways leading to the activation of IKK and MAPK by thymosin alpha1. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1112: 339-350.
36. Pierluigi, B., C. D'Angelo, F. Fallarino, et al 2010. Thymosin alpha1: the regulator of regulators? Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1194: 1-5.
37. Perruccio, K., P. Bonifazi, F. Topini, et al 2010. Thymosin alpha1 to harness immunity to pathogens after haploidentical hematopoietic transplantation. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1194: 153-161.
38. Matteucci, C., A. Minutolo, P. Sinibaldi-Vallebona, et al 2010. Transcription profile of human lymphocytes following in vitro treatment with thymosin alpha-1. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1194: 6-19.
39. Van den Eynde, B.J. & P. van der Bruggen 1997. T cell defined tumor antigens. Curr. Opin. Immunol. 9: 684-693.
40. Boon, T. & L.J. Old 1997. Cancer tumor antigens. Curr. Opin. Immunol. 9: 681-683.
41. Garaci, E., C. Favalli, F. Pica, et al 2007. Thymosin alpha 1: from bench to bedside. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1112: 225-234.
42. Guadagni, F., P. Graziano, M. Roselli, et al 1999. Differential expression of a new tumor-associated antigen, TLP, during human colorectal cancer tumorigenesis. Am. J. Pathol. 154: 993-999.
43. Rasi, G., P. Sinibaldi-Vallebona, A. Serafino, et al 2000. A new human tumor-associated antigen (TLP) is naturally expressed in rat DHD-K12 colorectal tumor cells. Int. J. Cancer. 85: 540-544.
44. Serafino, A., N. Moroni, R. Psaila, et al 2012. Anti-proliferative effect of atrial natriuretic peptide on colorectal cancer cells: evidence for an Akt-mediated cross-talk between NHE-1 activity and Wnt/β-catenin signaling. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1822: 1004-1018.
45. Barrow, C., J. Browning, D. MacGregor, et al 2006. Tumor antigen expression in melanoma varies according to antigen and stage. Clin. Cancer Res. 12: 764-771.
46. Kawakami, Y. & S.A. Rosenberg 1997. Human tumor antigens recognized by T cells. Immunol. Res. 16: 313-339.
47. Davis, I.D., M. Jefford, P. Parente & J. Cebon 2003. Rational approaches to human cancer immunotherapy. J. Leukoc. Biol. 73: 3-29.
48. Rosenberg, S.A. 2004. Shedding light on immunotherapy for cancer. N. Engl. J. Med. 350: 1461-1463.
49. Melino, G., P. Sinibaldi-Vallebona, S. D'Atri, et al 1993. Characterization of three melanoma cell lines (TVM-A12, TVM-A197, TVM-BO) sensivity to lysis and effect of retinoic acid. Clin. Chem. Enzym. Comms. 6: 105-119.
50. Serafino, A., E. Balestrieri, P. Pierimarchi, et al 2009. The activation of human endogenous retrovirus K (HERV-K) is implicated in melanoma cell malignant transformation. Exp. Cell Res. 315: 849-862.
51. Sinibaldi Vallebona, P., C. Matteucci & C. Spadafora 2011. Retrotransposon-encoded reverse transcriptase in the genesis, progression and cellular plasticity of human cancer. Cancers 3: 1141-1115.