Abstract
Renewed interest in neutrophil transfusions has emerged with the development and clinical use of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G- CSF). G-CSF not only increases neutrophil (polymorphonuclear leukocyte, PMNL) production but also modulates various physiological properties of PMNL. The effects of G-CSF on PMNL-mediated fungitidal activity were evaluated by administration of G-CSF (300 μg/day subcutaneously) to 5 healthy volunteers for 6 days. G-CSF significantly enhanced PMNL-mediated damage of Candida albicans pseudohyphae by 33% (P = .007) on day 2 and by 44% (P = .04) on day 6 at a 10:1 effector:target ratio. In contrast, the ability of PMNL to induce damage of hyphae from either Fusarium solani or Aspergillus fumigatus did not significantly change during the study period. These data demonstrate that G- CSF administered in vivo modulates PMNL-mediated fungicidal activity against the pseudohyphal form of C. albicans, thereby suggesting potential utility of G-CSF as a biologic response-modifying therapy in some opportunistic fungal infections.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1301-1304 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Journal of Infectious Diseases |
Volume | 179 |
Issue number | 5 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1999 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Financial support: Amgen, Inc.; NIH (PHS grant HL-53515; K08 grant AI-01411 to J.-A.H.v.B.).