Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor promotes proliferation, migration and invasion in glioma cells

Sustaining proliferative signaling is one of the hallmarks of cancer. Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), a hematopoietic growth factor that controls proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells, may contribute to the development of glioma. In the present study, we evaluated the expression of G-CSF and its receptor (G-CSFR) in various grades of glioma samples and primary cell culture derived from a glioblastoma patient as well as different human glioma cell lines. We showed that G-CSF and G-CSFR were widely expressed by glioma samples, primary glioma cell culture and glioma cell lines. The expression levels of G-CSF and G-CSFR were not significantly different between different grades of glioma. G-CSF promoted proliferation, migration and invasion of glioma cells. Neutralization of G-CSFR with its antibody inhibited growth and metastasis of glioma cells in vitro. We also showed that activation of signal transducer and activator transcription 3 (STAT 3) as well as expression of several of its downstream effectors was regulated by G-CSF. Taken together, the present results suggest that G-CSF contributes to glioma progression that may be linked to glioma genesis and recurrence.