The β-thymosins are a highly conserved family of strongly polar ~5 kDa polypeptides that are widely distributed in metazoan cells (Fig. 1). Thymosin βin4, the most abundant and best-characterized β-thymosin, binds monomeric actin in a stable 1:1 complex and acts as an actin “buffer,” preventing spontaneous polymerization but supplying high concentrations of free actin monomers for rapid filament elongation when cells are stimulated by extracellular cues. Several biological regulatory effects are attributed to Tβin4 and oxidized Tβin4. Among these are the induction of angiogenesis, tumor metastasis and the inhibition of inflammation. Correspondingly, several therapeutic applications for Tβ4 have been proposed.
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Au, J.K., Krendel, M., Safer, D., De La Cruz, E.M. (2008). The Roles of Thymosin β4 in Cell Migration and Cell-to-Cell Signaling in Disease. In: dos Remedios, C.G., Chhabra, D. (eds) Actin-Binding Proteins and Disease. Protein Reviews, vol 8. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-71749-4_9
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