TISF (T4 immune stimulating factor) is a substance produced by the thymus gland and used by the body to regulate the immune
system. TISF can now be produced in thymus cell cultures, extracted, purified, freeze-dried, and packaged as a supplement
called ‘Thymic Protein A’. The inventor of this process, Terry Beardsley, describes the protein in his 1997 patent (US #5,616,554)
as an “…immune potentiator which stimulates mature T lymphocytes and thus enhances the response of animals, especially mammalian
organisms, to infectious agents and to malignancies.”
Thymic Protein A has been tested (by injection) in various mammalian species, including humans. Several small human studies
of the oral formulation have also been carried out, with benefits reported both for stimulating flagging immune systems (as
in HIV disease) and for down-regulating overactive immune systems (as in allergic conditions). In patients with Epstein-Barr
virus (EBV) infections and with chronic fatigue syndrome, Thymic Protein A reduced viral activity, reduced symptoms, and elevated
the levels of T-cell types whose depletion is characteristic of such infections. (EBV is thought to be involved in a number
of ailments, including chronic fatigue syndrome, mononucleosis, Burkitt’s lymphoma, nasopharyngeal carcinoma, aplastic anemia,
and Hodgkin lymphoma.) Thymic Protein A might also be used to good effect in auto-immune conditions, such as arthritis, asthma,
allergy, lupus, and some forms of diabetes.
Thymic Protein A is formulated to be absorbed under the tongue. This is a new and still-developing technology that evades
the problems associated with other methods for dosing proteins: degradation of the protein by digestive or lung enzymes in
the case of pill or inhaler formulations, and unpleasantness and government interference in the case of injectable formulations.
For individuals whose oral absorption is inadequate, pretreatment of the mouth with chitosan can enhance the permeability
of the oral mucosa.
This product represents a potentially very exciting advance in our ability to gain detailed control over our bodies’ molecular-level
processes — processes that so often go awry, leaving us debilitated and frustrated.