Reading list
Thymulin, zinc and the endocrine connection
A route through the experiments that put these subjects in the same conversation.
The pituitary-cell preparation
Start at the rat anterior pituitary-cell experiment. Then the thymus–neuroendocrine review provides a larger account of the reciprocal relationship. The scale changes between an individual experiment and a synthesis; I enjoy returning to the individual preparation after the wider account.
Zinc, conformation and activity
The metal-removal and restoration experiment, the zinc-interaction review and the zinc-dependent antibody experiment make a satisfying sequence. They approach thymulin through activity, conformation and recognition. Human zinc deficiency, human age comparisons and aged mouse thymus in culture take that chemistry into different biological settings.
Follow the replacement experiments
Sustained circulating thymulin after thymus removal and the neonatal endocrine-development study belong together as animal experiments involving an absent thymus. The rheumatoid arthritis analogue trials are a separate human clinical question. The full citation details follow.