Colony-stimulating factors in the modulation of sepsis

Colony-stimulating factors, a complex family of cytokines often referred to as hematopoietic growth factors, are a family of glycoprotein hormones that regulate production and differentiation of hematopoietic cells. The study of colony-stimulating factors was originally confined to stimulation and formation of clonal colonies in in vitro culture systems. The study of hematopoietic growth factors has since evolved into an expanding number of clinical applications in the treatment of patients with hematopoietic and immunologic diseases. Increased occurrence rates of infection have been demonstrated to be associated with both severity and duration of neutropenia. Sepsis has also been associated with phagocytic functional abnormalities. Both neutropenia and neutrophil dysfunction have been shown, in part, to be corrected by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor or granulocyte-monocyte colony-stimulating factor. In clinical trials to date, neither of these growth factors has shown significant toxicity. This article discusses the possible use of these and other growth factors in the treatment of sepsis.