Istituto di Anatomia Patologica, Dipartimento di Scienze Chirurgiche, PO S. Giovanni di Dio, Università di Cagliari, 09124 Cagliari, Italy.
Eur J Histochem. 2013 May 7;57(2):e17. doi: 10.4081/ejh.2013.e17.
Thymosin beta 4 (Tβ4) and thymosin beta 10 (Tβ10) are two members of the β-thymosin family, involved in multiple cellular activities in different organs in multiple animal species. Here we report the expression pattern of Tβ4 and Tβ10 in rat tissues, in the gut and in annexed glands. The two peptide were differently expressed: Tβ4 was absent in salivary glands whereas Tβ10 was expressed in parotid and in submandibular glands. Tβ4 was mildly expressed in the tongue and in the oesophagus, where Tβ10 was absent. A similar expression was found in the stomach, ileum and colon mucosa. In pancreas Tβ4 reactivity was restricted to the Langerhans islet cells; Tβ4 was also detected in the exocrine cells. Both peptide were not expressed in liver cells. When the rat expression pattern in rat organs was compared to reactivity for Tβ4 and Tβ10 in humans, marked differences were found. Our data clearly indicate a species-specific expression of Tβ4 and Tβ10, characterized by the actual unpredictability of the expression of these peptides in different cells and tissues. The common high expression of Tβ4 in mast cells, both in humans and in rats, represents one of the few similarities between these two species.
胸腺素β 4（Tβ4）和胸腺素β 10（Tβ10）是β-胸腺素家族的两个成员，参与多种动物物种不同器官中的多种细胞活动。在这里，我们报告 Tβ4 和 Tβ10 在大鼠组织、肠道和附属腺中的表达模式。这两种肽的表达模式不同：Tβ4 在唾液腺中不存在，而 Tβ10 在腮腺和颌下腺中表达。Tβ4 在舌和食管中轻度表达，而 Tβ10 不存在。在胃、回肠和结肠黏膜中也发现了类似的表达。在胰腺中，Tβ4 反应性局限于胰岛细胞；Tβ4 也存在于外分泌细胞中。这两种肽都不在肝细胞中表达。当将大鼠器官中的大鼠表达模式与人类中 Tβ4 和 Tβ10 的反应性进行比较时，发现存在明显差异。我们的数据清楚地表明 Tβ4 和 Tβ10 的表达具有种特异性，其特征是这些肽在不同细胞和组织中的表达实际上是不可预测的。肥大细胞中 Tβ4 的高表达（无论是在人类还是在大鼠中）是这两个物种之间为数不多的相似之处之一。
