胸腺素β4(thymosin β4, Tβ4)是广泛分布于哺乳动物组织细胞中的多肽分子, 在心血管系统发挥多种生物学效能。Tβ4参与调节胚胎时期心脏和血管发育,维持干细胞/祖细胞的干能特性和细胞活性,诱导血管新生和成熟,维持血管稳定性;补充外源Tβ4可调节机体免疫、降低炎症反应,抑制组织纤维化,激活并动员心肌/内皮祖细胞参与组织血管再生修复,提高缺血心脏功能表现, 表明Tβ4可对心脏和血管发挥双重调节作用。目前Tβ4已在ST段抬高的心肌梗死患者中开 展临床试验,具有成为缺血性疾病治疗药物的潜力。因而, 本文围绕Tβ4的结构和生物学作用, 综述其在心血管发育和损伤修复中的作用,梳理和总结其对心血管保护的作用机制,为进一步推动和拓展基于Tβ4的治疗策略提供理论基础。

Thymosin beta-4 (Tβ4), a ubiquitously expressed peptide in mammalian tissues and cells, exerts diverse biological effects in the cardiovascular system. Tβ4 regulates cardiac and vascular development during embryogenesis, maintains stemness characteristics and cellular activity of stem/progenitor cells, induces angiogenesis and vascular maturation, and stabilizes vascular integrity.Exogenous Tβ4 supplementation can regulate immune responses, reduce inflammation, inhibit tissue fibrosis, activate and mobilize myocardial/endothelial progenitor cells for cardiovascular regeneration and repair.These mechanisms collectively enhance functional recovery in ischemic hearts, demonstrating Tβ4's dual regulatory roles in both cardiac and vascular systems. Currently, Tβ4 has entered clinical trials for patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), highlighting its therapeutic potential in ischemic diseases. This review summarizes the structural features and biological functions of Tβ4, focusing on its roles in cardiovascular development and injury repair. We further elucidate its cardioprotective mechanisms to provide a theoretical foundation for advancing Tβ4-based therapeutic strategies.