The colony-stimulating factors: biology and clinical use

The colony-stimulating factors (CSF) are a class of glycoprotein hormones that regulate the production and function of blood cells. Human sequences encoding four of the factors active on myeloid cells--granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF), and interleukin-3 (IL-3)--have been molecularly cloned and the biosynthetic (recombinant) products introduced into clinical trials. Sufficient clinical data have accumulated regarding G-CSF and GM-CSF to allow insight into their potential use in clinical practice. Both molecules have shown some impact in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced neutropenia and in the treatment of cytopenias associated with myelodysplastic syndromes and aplastic anemia. G-CSF has shown promise in the treatment of congenital and idiopathic neutropenias.