PTMA and hepatitis B virus infection: Interestingly, Ptma is a well-known gene encoding prothymosin alpha, which upon cleavage becomes thymosin alpha, a peptide that has been well studied in the context of immunity and that is used in the treatment of Hepatitis B and C and cancer (Ciancio and Rizzetto, 2010; Garaci et al., 2012; Ioannou et al., 2012).