A new thymopoietin precursor gene from human thymus.

Thymopoietin-related peptide (TPRP) gene was identified and cloned from a human thymus cDNA library. The cloned cDNA encoded a mature TPRP including the active site of thymopoietin (TP) (residues 32-36). TPRP and bovine TP were very similar in amino acid sequence, each being a 49 amino acid linear polypeptide. TPRP differed in only one residue from bovine putative TP and in only five residues from bovine TP I; whereas TPRP differed much more, at 12 amino acid residues, from human TP from thymus. This suggests that TPRP is a novel peptide and a genuine counterpart of the bovine TP.