Main description:

The first of two, this volume comprises a collection of papers devoted to the understanding of thymosins proteins originally isolated from the thymus and possess a unique array of biological properties. Thymosins in Health and Disease I brings together short reviews organized to explore the basic characteristics of these peptides and their hormone-like properties, recent preliminary evidence for their medicinal utility, and a focus on the alpha and beta thymosin families. In particular, Thymosin 4 (T 4) holds considerable promise for the treatment of many conditions and diseases. Of note, contributions to this volume include information on the application of thymosins to stem cell differentiation, neurological and cardiovascular regeneration, as well as accounts of thymosins in relation to basic regulatory and cancer cell functions. NOTE: Annals volumes are available for sale as individual books or as a journal. For more information on institutional journal subscriptions, please visit: http://ordering.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/subs.asp?ref=1749-6632&doi=10.111/(ISSN)1749-6632 ACADEMY MEMBERS: Please contact the New York Academy of Sciences directly to place your order (www.nyas.org).
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Contents:

Introduction for Thymosins in Health and Disease vii Allan L. Goldstein and Enrico Garaci Thymosins: chemistry, genetics, receptors, signaling, and multifunctionality Jack of all trades: thymosin 1 and its pleiotropy 1 Luigina Romani, Silvia Moretti, Francesca Fallarino, Silvia Bozza, Loredana Ruggeri, Andrea Casagrande, Franco Aversa, Francesco Bistoni, Andrea Velardi, and Enrico Garaci Single-domain -thymosins: the family history 7 John Edwards Controlled delivery of thymosin 4 for tissue engineering and cardiac regenerative medicine 16 Loraine L. Y. Chiu, Lewis A. Reis, and Milica Radisic Thymosin 1 and cancer: action on immune effector and tumor target cells 26 Enrico Garaci, Francesca Pica, Annalucia Serafino, Emanuela Balestrieri, Claudia Matteucci, Gabriella Moroni, Roberta Sorrentino, Manuela Zonfrillo, Pasquale Pierimarchi, and Paola Sinibaldi-Vallebona Prothymosin plays multifunctional cell robustness roles in genomic, epigenetic, and nongenomic mechanisms 34 Hiroshi Ueda, Hayato Matsunaga, and Sebok Kumar Halder Thymosin 4 is rapidly internalized by cells and does not induce intracellular Ca^2 elevation 44 Czeslaw S. Cierniewski, Katarzyna Sobierajska, Anna Selmi, Jakub Kryczka, and Radoslaw Bednarek Thymosins: molecular markers, wound healing, fibrosis, inflammation, and hypoxia Thymosin 4 expression reveals intriguing similarities between fetal and cancer cells 53 Carvino Faa, Sonia Nemolato, Tiziana Cabras, Daniela Fanni, Clara Gerosa, Mattia Fanari, Annalisa Locci, Vassilios Fanos, Irene Messana, and Massimo Castagnola Protective effects of thymosin 4 on carbon tetrachloride-induced acute hepatotoxicity in rats 61 Karina Reyes-Gordillo, Ruchi Shah, Jaime Arellanes-Robledo, Marcos Rojkind, and M. Raj Lakshman Protective effects of thymosin 4 in a mouse model of lung fibrosis 69 Enrico Conte, Tiziana Genovese, Elisa Gili, Emanuela Esposito, Maria Iemmolo, Mary Fruciano, Evelina Fagone, Maria Provvidenza Pistorio, Nunzio Crimi, Salvatore Cuzzocrea, and Carlo Vancheri Thymosin 4 affecting the cytoskeleton organization of the myofibroblasts 74 H. Paul Ehrlich and Sprague W. Hazard Thymosin 4 stabilizes hypoxia-inducible factor-1 protein in an oxygen-independent manner 79 Mee Sun Ock, Kyoung Seob Song, Hynda Kleinman, and Hee-Jae Cha Thymosin 4: cardiovascular protection, neuroplasticity and regeneration, and stem cell differentiation Thymosin 4 and cardiac protection: implication in inflammation and fibrosis 84 Sudhiranjan Gupta, Sandeep Kumar, Nikolai Sopko, Yilu Qin, Chuanyu Wei, and Il-Kwon Kim Myocardial regeneration: expanding the repertoire of thymosin 4 in the ischemic heart 92 Nicola Smart, Sveva Bollini, Karina D. Dube, Joaquim M. Vieira, Bin Zhou, Johannes Riegler, Anthony N. Price, Mark F. Lythgoe, Sean Davidson, Derek Yellon, William T. Pu, and Paul R. Riley Molecular and cellular mechanisms of thymosin 4-mediated cardioprotection 102 Rabea Hinkel, Teresa Trenkwalder, and Christian Kupatt Treatment of neurological injury with thymosin 4 110 Daniel C. Morris, Zheng G. Zhang, Jing Zhang, Ye Xiong, Li Zhang, and Michael Chopp Therapeutic potential of thymosin 4 in myocardial infarct and hear failure 117 Christoffer Stark, Pekka Taimen, Miikka Tarkia, Jussi Parkka, Antti Saraste, Tero-Pekka Alastalo, Timo Savunen, and Juha Koskenvuo Thymosin 4 mobilizes mesothelial cells for blood vessel repair 125 Elaine L. Shelton and David M. Bader Appendix: Historical article reprinted from Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 332: 33-48 (1979) Current status of thymosin research: Evidence for the existence of a family of thymic factors that control T-cell maturation 131 Teresa L. K. Low, Gary B. Thurman, Carolina Chincarini, John E. McClure, Gailen D. Marshalll, Shu-Kuang Hu, and Allan L. Goldstein