Thymosin alpha 1 treatment for patients with sepsis

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by host immune response to infection. In this regard, modifying host immune response may help to eliminate systemic infection and restore organ function. Thymosin alpha 1 (Tα1), acting as an immune modulator, exerts great biological influence in activating and restoring the dysregulated immune response for patients with sepsis.Areas covered: In this review, we summarize the clinical studies of Tα1 treatment alone and in combination with anti-inflammatory for patients with sepsis or septic shock. Clinical studies were collected from available English and Chinese databases.Expert opinion: In previous studies, single or combined treatment with Tα1 reduced the mortality rate of sepsis, improved the expression of HLA-DR on monocyte, and diminished the incidence of secondary infection. Based on the existing studies, Tα1 seems to be a promising alternative adjuvant therapy for sepsis. However, sepsis is a remarkably heterogeneous clinica...