title: Amniotic fluid thymosin alpha 1 levels increase during gestation.
abstract: Thymosin alpha 1 is one of several cytokines produced by the thymus that modulates immune function. The presence of elevated serum levels of thymosin alpha 1 in pregnant women and their newborns has suggested that this peptide may play a role in perinatal immunology. In this investigation, we used a microenzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to assay amniotic fluid for immunoreactive thymosin alpha 1 and found levels that were remarkably higher than newborn serum levels (P less than 10(-4]. The increase of thymosin alpha 1 in amniotic fluid with fetal age was natural logarithmic (r = 0.838, P less than 10(-6]. Thymosin alpha 1 in amniotic fluid may account for some of the immunologic properties of this medium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Wayne State University/Hutzel Hospital, Detroit, MI 48201.
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Welch
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Sokol
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Mutchnick
mesh_terms: D000653:Amniotic Fluid / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000378:metabolism*; D000077596:Thymalfasin; D013947:Thymosin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D013947:Thymosin; D000077596:Thymalfasin