title: Immunoreactive thymosin alpha 1 in human thymus and thymoma.
abstract: Thymosin alpha 1-like immunoreactivity was assessed in human thymus and thymoma tissue extracts by means of a new radioimmunoassay that included an anti-thymosin alpha 1 mouse monoclonal antibody. Thymosin alpha 1-like immunoreactivity levels decreased with age in normal thymuses but not in thymomas. The average thymosin alpha 1-like immunoreactivity level was 45.0 +/- 52.1 ng/mg protein in normal thymuses and 273.9 +/- 205.0 ng/mg protein in thymomas. The average thymosin alpha 1-immunoreactivity level in thymomas was higher than that in normal thymuses. Thymosin alpha 1-like immunoreactivity levels in thymomas appeared to have no relationship to the clinical stage of the thymoma or associated diseases. When viewed according to histologic characteristics, the average thymosin alpha 1-like immunoreactivity level in polygonal cell thymomas (382.5 +/- 192.6 ng/mg protein) was significantly higher than that in the spindle cell thymoma (101.8 +/- 81.2 ng/mg protein). When viewed according to the degree of lymphocyte infiltration, thymomas could be classified according to four grades: absent, scant, moderate, and predominant. In predominant or moderate thymomas, the average thymosin alpha 1-like immunoreactivity level was higher than that in scant or absent thymomas. Also, thymosin alpha 1-like immunoreactivity levels in thymuses of patients with myasthenia gravis were relatively higher than those in patients with normal thymuses.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Surgery, Nagoya City University Medical School, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Naruse
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamakawa
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iizuka
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Masaoka
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011863:Radioimmunoassay / Q000379:methods; D000077596:Thymalfasin; D013945:Thymoma / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D013947:Thymosin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000032:analysis; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology
chemical_list: D013947:Thymosin; D000077596:Thymalfasin