REGENERX BIOPHARMACEUTICALS, INC. (NYSE Alternext US:RGN) announced that a research team from the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI reported that Thymosin beta 4 (Tβ4), administered to rats one day after embolic stroke, improved neurological functional outcome compared to control animals. Improvement in neurological function was measured at various time intervals over a seven week period and was statistically significant.
“We are very pleased with these results, which provide a foundation to further explore Tβ4 as a treatment for neurological injury”
An increase in remyelination of axons (regeneration of the nerve sheath) was observed in rats receiving Tβ4 compared to control animals, likely due to an increased mobilization of oligodendrocyte progenitors (stem cells surrounding axons) that differentiate into mature myelin-producing oligodendrocytes. In cell culture, Tβ4 treated neuronal progenitor cells isolated from normal and stroke rats demonstrated increased mRNA levels of epidermal growth factor receptor. This receptor has previously been shown to be a regulator of oligoprogenitor cell expansion and tissue regeneration in response to brain injury and further supports the role of Tβ4 in stem cell-mediated tissue repair.