Thymic peptide modulates glutathione redox cycle and antioxidant enzymes in macrophages.

The effect of a 6-kDa thymic peptide (TP) on the oxidative burst of the murine macrophage cell line J774 was determined. TP was incubated with J774 cells at 37 degrees C and 5% CO2 for 18 h, oxidative burst was triggered by zymosan, and chemiluminescence was amplified by luminol and measured in an automated luminometer. TP exhibited a concentration-dependent suppression of oxidative burst. To study the mechanisms involved in TP's suppression of oxidative burst, its effect on the glutathione redox cycle and antioxidant enzymes was investigated. J774 cells were incubated with varying concentrations of TP for 18 h, washed, resuspended in phosphate-buffered saline, and sonicated to obtain cell lysate. Biochemical assays were performed with the lysate. TP was shown to increase the level of glutathione, and activities of glutathione-peroxidase and glutathione-reductase, indicating its ability to modulate the glutathione redox cycle. The activity of antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase was enhanced significantly by TP treatment while catalase activity remained unaffected. These results suggest that TP possesses an antioxidant property and therefore may be involved in the regulation of free radical mediated reactions.