Thymalin Research Peptide

Thymalin is a thymus bioregulator first developed in St Petersburg in the 1970s. The original preparation is a polypeptide complex extracted from calf thymus, and later research identified the dipeptides KE and EW as active components. It is used in laboratory research on T-cell differentiation and cytokine signalling.

Because the name has been applied to different materials. Some descriptions refer to the original thymus extract, a mixture of many peptides, while others describe synthetic material based on the KE and EW dipeptides. There is no single CAS number or structure covering all of these, which is why batch mass spectrometry is the most useful document for this product.

KE is lysine joined to glutamic acid, and EW is glutamic acid joined to tryptophan. A 2023 study described both as active substances of Thymalin. EW on its own has also been studied under the name Thymogen. As two-amino-acid peptides they are among the smallest bioactive peptides researched.

Both are linked to the thymus, but they are different molecules. Thymosin Alpha-1 is a single defined peptide of 28 amino acids, originally isolated from a thymus fraction called thymosin fraction 5. Thymalin is a bioregulator preparation from a separate Russian research tradition, with a different composition and literature.

It is the term Khavinson’s group uses for short peptides and peptide complexes that they report act on the tissue they were derived from. Thymalin is the thymic example. Pinealon, Cartalax and Epitalon are other members of the same family, each linked to a different tissue.

The St Petersburg group reported Thymalin-like material, detected with antibodies, in human epidermis and fetal thymus tissue, and found the layer of cells containing it thinned with age. Those findings come from a single group’s immunostaining work, so they describe a reported tissue factor rather than a fully characterised human hormone.

Relatively little. Most of the several hundred indexed papers are older Russian-language publications, many of them clinical reports from the Soviet period. The more recent cell and molecular studies, including the 2020, 2022 and 2023 work described on this page, are available in English.

In a 2020 study on human haematopoietic stem cells, Thymalin lowered the stem cell marker CD44 and the intermediate marker CD117 by two to three times and raised the mature T-cell marker CD28 by 6.8 times. The authors interpreted this as stimulating differentiation of stem cells towards mature T lymphocytes.

In human blood mononuclear cells stimulated with bacterial lipopolysaccharide, Thymalin and its KE and EW dipeptides lowered IL-1β, IL-6 and TNFα production by 1.4 to 6.0 times in a 2023 study. A 2022 study on THP-1 monocytes found reduced TNF and IL-6 release under similar conditions.

Yes, though often in collaboration with the original group. The 2022 THP-1 study was led by researchers at the University of Chieti in Italy, and a 2013 study from Vladivostok compared Thymalin with a squid-derived peptide preparation in animals and blood cells. Independent replication remains limited.

Because the starting conditions differ. In cells stimulated to produce an inflammatory response, studies reported reduced inflammatory cytokines, while in unstimulated blood cells a 2013 study reported increases in both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines. The model, cell state and material used all shape the result.

Thymalin is not a controlled drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, and it is not a licensed medicine in the UK. It is sold in the UK as a research compound for laboratory use only, which is how Crown Peptides supplies it. This is general information, not legal advice.

Thymalin is coming soon to Crown Peptides in 10mg vials, available singly or in packs of 3, 5 or 10 with a saving on every vial. Orders ship from the UK, and every batch is independently tested, with its Certificate of Analysis published on this page once stock arrives.

That depends on the confirmed composition. If the material is the EW dipeptide, about 333 daltons, 10mg is roughly 30 micromoles; for the KE dipeptide, about 275 daltons, it is roughly 36 micromoles. A peptide complex has no single molecular weight, so use the mass and composition on your batch’s Certificate of Analysis for exact calculations.

Keep the unreconstituted powder at -20°C ± 5°C, dry and away from light. Material containing the EW dipeptide includes tryptophan, an amino acid that is sensitive to light and oxidation, so vials are best kept sealed and dark until use. Prepared solutions should follow storage conditions validated for your study design, and each batch’s Certificate of Analysis documents the material as dispatched.