Research
TB-500
A short synthetic peptide corresponding to the actin-binding region of thymosin β4, a 43-amino-acid protein found naturally in human cells.
Available in the catalogue
Supplied as research material. Sizes and pricing are on the product page. Availability is not a statement about what a compound does.
What is being investigated
Directions the published work points at, and how far each has actually got. These are open questions, not established effects: most of what looks promising in cells does not replicate in animals, and most of what works in animals does not work in people. Nothing here is a claim about what this compound does for anyone.
- Wound closure and re-epithelialisation
Rodent full-thickness wound models ask whether the skin surface closes faster. Full-length thymosin β4, as with almost everything below — the fragment has very little literature of its own.
Animal studies
- Corneal and ocular surface repair
The one direction that reached large human trials: full-length thymosin β4 was taken through randomised work in dry eye disease and corneal wounds, with mixed results across trials.
Human trials
- Cardiac repair after ischaemia
Mouse work after coronary artery ligation reported that thymosin β4 promoted cardiomyocyte survival and migration through integrin-linked kinase and Akt. It has not been trialled in people for this.
Animal studies
- Whether the fragment does what the protein does
The question under all of the above. TB-500 is the actin-binding region rather than the whole 43-residue protein, and the assumption that the shorter piece carries the activity is largely untested.
Proposed from mechanism
Published research
Every reference below was checked against the published record before being listed, with the model each study used.
- Malinda et al. (1999)Journal of Investigative Dermatology · 113(3):364–8
Reported accelerated re-epithelialisation of dermal wounds relative to saline controls.
rat full-thickness wound model, full-length thymosin β4 Source
- Bock-Marquette et al. (2004)Nature · 432:466–72
Reported that thymosin β4 activated integrin-linked kinase and Akt, promoting cardiomyocyte survival and migration after ischaemic injury.
mouse coronary artery ligation, full-length thymosin β4 Source
Further reading
Longer articles on handling, analysis and what the published work reports.
- TB-500 and thymosin beta-4: what the research says
The fragment sold as TB-500 is not the molecule most of the literature studied. What the thymosin β4 research reported, including two human eye trials.
- How to store research peptides
Lyophilised peptides at -20°C, reconstituted at 2–8°C, ambient in transit. Why the dry cake tolerates shipping, and what actually degrades a vial.
- Peptide shelf life and stability
How long lyophilised and reconstituted peptides keep, and the four things that shorten it: temperature, moisture, light and oxidation. Storage figures included.
- How to reconstitute lyophilised peptides
How to reconstitute a lyophilised peptide with bacteriostatic water without damaging it: why you run the liquid down the vial wall and never shake it.