A multipronged Tα1 reset of CD8⁺ T cell cytotoxicity against breast cancer.

Mishra S, Telang G, Sureshbabu A, Kulkarni S, Thayagrajan S, Kumar AWS, Singh R

Human immunology30 Jan 2026

PMID41619634DOI10.1016/j.humimm.2026.111678PepBankPUB-41619634

Publisher page PubMedAsk about this study

Summary

The text of this summary is not shown here, because the article license does not allow reuse. Read it at the source (opens in a new tab)

Text rights: Publisher copyright. Results still quote short attributed sentences.

Results from this study8

7 results from studies that gave the peptide. No result from this study comes from people.

01LabIn vitro (cells)Mechanism
In cultures of CD8+ T cells from healthy donors with breast cancer cells, Tα1 increased T cell-mediated apoptosis beyond CD3/CD28 stimulation alone.
In plain wordsIn lab tests, thymosin alpha‑1 made donor T cells kill more breast cancer cells than stimulation alone.
Peptide
Thymosin alpha-1
Outcome
IncreaseCD8+ T cell-mediated tumor cell apoptosis
Study
humann = 10
CD8+ T cells from healthy donors co-cultured with MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells
Comparator
CD3/CD28 stimulation alone
Outcome group
Immune response · Cancer
Studied dose
Dose not stated
Source sentences
Summary
Tα1 significantly enhanced CD8⁺ T cell-mediated apoptosis, suppressed tumor cell proliferation, and increased granzyme B secretion beyond CD3/CD28 stimulation alone.
1 context sentence(design, population, supporting numbers)
Summary · context
In this study, CD8⁺ T cells isolated from peripheral blood of ten healthy donors were cultured under unstimulated, CD3/CD28-stimulated, Tα1-treated, or exhaustion-rescue conditions to evaluate cytotoxic activity against MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and CD44⁺ cancer stem-like…
Report a problemFND-4161963401
02LabIn vitro (cells)Mechanism
In cultures of CD8+ T cells with breast cancer cells, Tα1 suppressed tumor cell proliferation beyond CD3/CD28 stimulation alone.
In plain wordsIn lab tests, thymosin alpha‑1 slowed breast cancer cell growth more than stimulation alone.
Peptide
Thymosin alpha-1
Outcome
DecreaseTumor cell proliferation
Study
humann = 10
CD8+ T cells from healthy donors co-cultured with MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells
Comparator
CD3/CD28 stimulation alone
Outcome group
Tumor growth · Cancer
Studied dose
Dose not stated
Source sentences
Summary
Tα1 significantly enhanced CD8⁺ T cell-mediated apoptosis, suppressed tumor cell proliferation, and increased granzyme B secretion beyond CD3/CD28 stimulation alone.
1 context sentence(design, population, supporting numbers)
Summary · context
In this study, CD8⁺ T cells isolated from peripheral blood of ten healthy donors were cultured under unstimulated, CD3/CD28-stimulated, Tα1-treated, or exhaustion-rescue conditions to evaluate cytotoxic activity against MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and CD44⁺ cancer stem-like…
Report a problemFND-4161963402
03LabIn vitro (cells)Mechanism
In cultures of CD8+ T cells, Tα1 increased granzyme B secretion beyond CD3/CD28 stimulation alone.
In plain wordsIn lab tests, thymosin alpha‑1 raised granzyme B release from T cells more than stimulation alone.
Peptide
Thymosin alpha-1
Outcome
IncreaseGranzyme B secretion
Study
humann = 10
CD8+ T cells from healthy donors co-cultured with MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells
Comparator
CD3/CD28 stimulation alone
Outcome group
Immune response · Immune and inflammation
Studied dose
Dose not stated
Source sentences
Summary
Tα1 significantly enhanced CD8⁺ T cell-mediated apoptosis, suppressed tumor cell proliferation, and increased granzyme B secretion beyond CD3/CD28 stimulation alone.
1 context sentence(design, population, supporting numbers)
Summary · context
In this study, CD8⁺ T cells isolated from peripheral blood of ten healthy donors were cultured under unstimulated, CD3/CD28-stimulated, Tα1-treated, or exhaustion-rescue conditions to evaluate cytotoxic activity against MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and CD44⁺ cancer stem-like…
Report a problemFND-4161963403
04LabIn vitro (cells)Mechanism
In exhausted CD8+ T cells, Tα1 partially restored effector function.
In plain wordsIn lab tests, thymosin alpha‑1 partly restored the killing function of exhausted T cells.
Peptide
Thymosin alpha-1
Outcome
IncreaseEffector function of exhausted T cells
Study
humann = 10
CD8+ T cells from healthy donors co-cultured with MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells
Outcome group
Immune response · Immune and inflammation
Studied dose
Dose not stated
Source sentences
Summary
In exhausted T cells, Tα1 partially restored effector function
1 context sentence(design, population, supporting numbers)
Summary · context
In this study, CD8⁺ T cells isolated from peripheral blood of ten healthy donors were cultured under unstimulated, CD3/CD28-stimulated, Tα1-treated, or exhaustion-rescue conditions to evaluate cytotoxic activity against MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and CD44⁺ cancer stem-like…
Report a problemFND-4161963404
05LabIn vitro (cells)Mechanism
In exhausted CD8+ T cells, Tα1 reduced PD-1 expression.
In plain wordsIn lab tests, thymosin alpha‑1 lowered the exhaustion marker PD-1 on T cells.
Peptide
Thymosin alpha-1
Outcome
DecreasePD-1 expression on exhausted T cells
Study
humann = 10
CD8+ T cells from healthy donors co-cultured with MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells
Outcome group
Immune response · Immune and inflammation
Studied dose
Dose not stated
Source sentences
Summary
In exhausted T cells, Tα1 partially restored effector function and reduced PD-1, TIM-3, and LAG-3 expression.
1 context sentence(design, population, supporting numbers)
Summary · context
In this study, CD8⁺ T cells isolated from peripheral blood of ten healthy donors were cultured under unstimulated, CD3/CD28-stimulated, Tα1-treated, or exhaustion-rescue conditions to evaluate cytotoxic activity against MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and CD44⁺ cancer stem-like…
Report a problemFND-4161963405
06LabIn vitro (cells)Mechanism
In exhausted CD8+ T cells, Tα1 reduced TIM-3 expression.
In plain wordsIn lab tests, thymosin alpha‑1 lowered the exhaustion marker TIM-3 on T cells.
Peptide
Thymosin alpha-1
Outcome
DecreaseTIM-3 expression on exhausted T cells
Study
humann = 10
CD8+ T cells from healthy donors co-cultured with MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells
Outcome group
Immune response · Immune and inflammation
Studied dose
Dose not stated
Source sentences
Summary
In exhausted T cells, Tα1 partially restored effector function and reduced PD-1, TIM-3, and LAG-3 expression.
1 context sentence(design, population, supporting numbers)
Summary · context
In this study, CD8⁺ T cells isolated from peripheral blood of ten healthy donors were cultured under unstimulated, CD3/CD28-stimulated, Tα1-treated, or exhaustion-rescue conditions to evaluate cytotoxic activity against MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and CD44⁺ cancer stem-like…
Report a problemFND-4161963406
07LabIn vitro (cells)Mechanism
In exhausted CD8+ T cells, Tα1 reduced LAG-3 expression.
In plain wordsIn lab tests, thymosin alpha‑1 lowered the exhaustion marker LAG-3 on T cells.
Peptide
Thymosin alpha-1
Outcome
DecreaseLAG-3 expression on exhausted T cells
Study
humann = 10
CD8+ T cells from healthy donors co-cultured with MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells
Outcome group
Immune response · Immune and inflammation
Studied dose
Dose not stated
Source sentences
Summary
In exhausted T cells, Tα1 partially restored effector function and reduced PD-1, TIM-3, and LAG-3 expression.
1 context sentence(design, population, supporting numbers)
Summary · context
In this study, CD8⁺ T cells isolated from peripheral blood of ten healthy donors were cultured under unstimulated, CD3/CD28-stimulated, Tα1-treated, or exhaustion-rescue conditions to evaluate cytotoxic activity against MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells and CD44⁺ cancer stem-like…
Report a problemFND-4161963407

Studies that did not test the peptide alone1

In this study, Thymosin alpha-1 was a lab tool or a carrier, part of a mix, or the subject of a lab method. These results are not evidence about taking Thymosin alpha-1.

08Computer modelNot a test of Thymosin alpha-1 aloneIn silicoMechanism
In the TCGA-BRCA breast cancer dataset, a four-gene Tα1 response index correlated positively with antigen presentation and cytotoxic programs.
In plain wordsIn computer analysis of breast cancer data, a gene score linked to thymosin alpha‑1 matched immune activity genes. No one received the peptide.
Peptide
Thymosin alpha-1
Outcome
Not applicableTα1 Response Index correlation with antigen presentation and cytotoxic programs
Study
humann = 1,112
TCGA-BRCA transcriptomic and single-cell datasets
Outcome group
Immune response · Immune and inflammation
Source sentences
Summary
Complementary transcriptomic analysis using a compact four-gene Tα1 Response Index (Tα1-RI: TLR9, TLR2, IRF1, NLRC5) in TCGA-BRCA (n = 1,112) confirmed positive correlations with antigen presentation and cytotoxic programs and enrichment in CD8-like T cells in single-cell datasets.
In this study, Thymosin alpha-1 was a lab tool or a carrier, part of a mix, or the subject of a lab method. This result is not evidence about taking Thymosin alpha-1.
Report a problemFND-4161963408

AI wrote and checked these results. AI can make mistakes, so check important results against the source.

Version history

PepBank keeps every version of the data on this study. Status changes from Retraction Watch, Europe PMC and Crossref are listed with their source.

Version 3Current
10 Oct 2026, 08:19 UTC
Study results updated
Version 2
9 Oct 2026, 03:03 UTC
Study data updated · source update from Europe PMC
Version 1
9 Oct 2026, 03:02 UTC
First added · source update from Europe PMC

Subjects

Terms as the source lists them.

PepBank is a research reference. Talk to a doctor before you use any peptide.