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Prothymosin alpha in human blood
Plain-language summary
Paraphrased from the published abstract below — not a verdict on whether anything works.
In this study of human blood, the major peptide in plasma cross-reacting with a radioimmunoassay (RIA) for thymosin alpha 1 was identified as prothymosin alpha, based on elution in gel-filtration chromatography and amino acid composition after HPLC purification. Less than 10% of the cross-reacting material corresponded to lower molecular weight thymosin alpha 1-like peptides. Total cross-reacting material, expressed as thymosin alpha 1 equivalents, was 11-14 pmol/ml, with approximately 90% in the leukocyte fraction, approximately 10% in the plasma fraction, and 1-2% in the erythrocyte fraction; the leukocyte peptide was also identified as prothymosin alpha. After correcting for prothymosin alpha's 5-times lower molar reactivity in the RIA, the authors estimate prothymosin alpha content in human blood at 55-70 pmol/ml (0.6-0.8 microgram/ml).
Abstract
The major cross-reacting peptide in human plasma detected with a radioimmunoassay (RIA) for thymosin alpha 1 was identified as prothymosin alpha, based on its elution properties in gel-filtration chromatography and its amino acid composition after purification by HPLC. A small quantity (less than 10%) of the total cross-reacting material was recovered in fractions corresponding to lower molecular weight thymosin alpha 1-like peptides. The total quantity of cross-reacting material detected in human blood, expressed as thymosin alpha 1 equivalents, was 11-14 pmol/ml (approximately 90% was recovered in the leukocyte fraction, approximately 10% was in the plasma fraction, and 1-2% was in the erythrocyte fraction). The peptide present in leukocytes was also identified as prothymosin alpha. After correction for the 5-times lower molar reactivity of prothymosin alpha in the thymosin alpha 1 RIA employed in these experiments, we estimate that the content of prothymosin alpha in human blood is 55-70 pmol/ml (0.6-0.8 microgram/ml). The relatively small quantities recovered in the erythrocyte and plasma fractions may be attributed to contamination of the former by leukocytes or to leakage from leukocytes into the plasma.
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