1 Thymopentin ameliorates dextran sulfate sodium-induced colitis by triggering 2 the production of IL-22 in both innate and adaptive lymphocytes 3 Qiuhua Cao1, 2*, Xinghua Gao1, 2*, Yanting Lin1, 2, Chongxiu Yue1, 2, Yue Wang1, 2, Fei 4 Quan1, 2, Zixuan Zhang1, 2, Xiaoxuan Liu1, 2, Yuan Lu1, 2, Yanling Zhan1, 2, Hongbao 5 Yang1, 2, Xianjing Li1, 2, Di Qin5, Lutz Birnbaumer4, Kun Hao3 & Yong Yang1, 2 6 7 1. State Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines, China Pharmaceutical University, 8 Nanjing, Jiangsu 211198, PR China 9 2. Center for New Drug Safety Evaluation and Research, China Pharmaceutical 10 University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 211198, PR China 11 3. Key Lab of Drug Metabolism & Pharmacokinetics, China Pharmaceutical 12 University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210009, PR China 13 4. Neurobiology Laboratory, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 14 Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA, and Institute of Biomedical 15 Research (BIOMED), Catholic University of Argentina, Buenos Aires C1107AFF, 16 Argentina 17 5. School of Sports and Health, Nanjing sport institute, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210001, PR 18 China 19 *These authors contributed equally to this work. 20 Corresponding author: Yong Yang and Kun Hao, China Pharmaceutical University, 21 Nanjing, China. Phone and Fax: 86-025-86185622. E-mail:
[email protected] or 22
[email protected]. 1 23 Abstract 24 Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory gastrointestinal disease, 25 notoriously challenging to treat. Previous studies have found a positive correlation 26 between thymic atrophy and colitis severity. It was, therefore, worthwhile to investigate 27 the effect of thymopentin (TP5), a synthetic pentapeptide corresponding to the active 28 domain of the thymopoietin, on colitis.