ArticleBMC infectious diseases2024
Role of thymosin α1 in restoring immune response in immunological nonresponders living with HIV.
Article in BMC infectious diseases, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04963712 (A Prospective Single-arm Cohort Study Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Thymalfasin), which is not on this map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Prospective Single-arm Cohort Study Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of Thymalfasin (Zadaxin®) in the Treatment of HIV-positive Patients With Immune Reconstitution Disorders
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- The efficacy and safety of thymosin α1 for sepsis (TESTS): multicentre, double blinded, randomised, placebo controlled, phase 3 trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2025Trial
- Thymosin α1-induced secretion of the IL-15/RA complex by THP-1-derived dendritic cells restrains HIV latencyVirulence · 2026Article
- HIV associated immune aging among people living with HIV: implications for long-term antiretroviral therapy and potential HIV cure interventions in sub-Saharan Africa.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Review
- HIV infection and immunosenescence: challenges and intervention strategies.BMC medicine · 2025Review
- Grand Challenges on HIV/AIDS in China - The 5th Symposium, Yunnan 2024.Emerging microbes & infections · 2025Article
- Review
- The Immunomodulatory Activity of Thymosin Alpha 1 on Tumor Cell Lines and Distinct Immune Cell Subsets.OncoTargets and therapy · 2025Article
- Mechanisms of HIV-immunologic non-responses and research trends based on gut microbiota.Frontiers in immunology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundImmunological nonresponders (INRs) living with HIV are at increased risk of co-infection and multiple tumors, with no effective strategy currently available to restore their T-cell immune response. This study aimed to explore the safety and efficacy of thymosin α1 in reconstituting the immune response in INRs.
methodsINRs with CD4 + T cell counts between 100 and 350 cells/μL were enrolled and received two-staged 1.6 mg thymosin α1 subcutaneous injections for 24 weeks (daily in the first 2 weeks and biweekly in the subsequent 22 weeks) while continuing antiretroviral therapy. T cell counts and subsets, the expression of PD-1 and TIM-3 on T cells, and signal joint T cell receptor excision circles (sjTREC) at week 24 were evaluated as endpoints.
resultsTwenty three INRs were screened for eligibility, and 20 received treatment. The majority were male (19/20), with a median age of 48.1 years (interquartile range: 40.5-57.0) and had received antiretroviral therapy for 5.0 (3.0, 7.3) years. Multiple comparisons indicated that CD4 + T cell count and sjTREC increased after initiation of treatment, although no significant differences were observed at week 24 compared to baseline. Greatly, levels of CD4 + T cell proportion (17.2% vs. 29.1%, P < 0.001), naïve CD4 + and CD8 + T cell proportion (17.2% vs. 41.1%, P < 0.001; 13.8% vs. 26.6%, P = 0.008) significantly increased. Meanwhile, the proportion of CD4 + central memory T cells of HIV latent hosts (42.7% vs. 10.3%, P < 0.001) significantly decreased. Moreover, the expression of PD-1 on CD4 + T cells (14.1% vs. 6.5%, P < 0.001) and CD8 + T cells (8.5% vs. 4.1%, P < 0.001) decreased, but the expression of TIM-3 on T cellsremained unaltered at week 24. No severe adverse events were reported and HIV viral loads kept stable throughout the study.
conclusionsThymosin α1 enhance CD4 + T cell count and thymic output albeit as a trend rather than an endpoint. Importantly, it improves immunosenescence and decreases immune exhaustion, warranting further investigation.
trial registrationThis single-arm prospective study was registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04963712) on July 15, 2021.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.