Construction, expression, and characterization of thymosin alpha 1 tandem repeats in Escherichia coli

Thymosin alpha 1 (T α 1), which is composed of 28 amino acids, has been commercialized worldwide for its immune-modulatory and antitumor effects. T α 1 can stimulate T cell proliferation and differentiation from bone marrow stem cells, augment cell-mediated immune responses, and regulate homeostasis of immune system. In this study, we developed a novel strategy to produce T α 1 concatemer (T α 1③) in Escherichia coli and compared its activity with chemically synthesized T α 1. Results showed that T α 1③ can more effectively stimulate T cell proliferation and significantly upregulate IL-2 receptor expression. We concluded that the expression system for T α 1 concatemer was constructed successfully, which could serve as an efficient tool for the production of large quantities of the active protein.