GM-CSF antibody

Four distinct colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) that promote survival, proliferation and differentiation of bone marrow precursor cells are well characterized: granulocyte-macrophage CSF (GMCSF), granulocyte CSF (GCSF), macrophage CSF (MCSF), and interleukin-3 (IL-3, Multi CSF) Both GMCSF and IL-3 are multipotential growth factors, stimulating proliferation of progenitor cells from more than one hematopoietic lineage. In contrast, GCSF and MCSF are lineage restricted hematopoietic growth factors, stimulating the final mitotic divisions and the terminal cellular maturation of partially differentiated hematopoietic progenitors.GMCSF induces myeloid progenitor cells from bone marrow to form colonies containing macrophages and granulocytes in a semisolid media. It acts upon mature macrophages, eosinophils and neutrophils to stimulate various functional activities. GMCSF is an acidic glyocprotein (18-22 kDa in human and 23 kDa inmouse) which binds to high affinity receptors on GMCSF sensitive cells. Although human and mouse GMCSF share 54% amino acid sequence homology, their biological actions are species-specific. The actions of GMCSF and the binding of GMCSF to its receptor are modulated by other growth factors and additional forms of CSF. Human GMCSF is presently undergoing clinical trials for therapy of several diseases and syndromes.