Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is characterized by inflammation of the respiratory tract in which macrophages are the predominant inflammatory cell and for which the efficacy of treatment with corticosteroids is controversial. We investigated the effect of dexamethasone on basal and interleukin (IL)-1beta or cigarette smoke media (CSM)-stimulated release of ...

Production of macrophage-colony stimulating factor (M-CSF), the major macrophage growth factor, is increased in tissues during inflammation. Therefore, we determined whether M-CSF, acting through its receptor c-fms, contributes to macrophage accumulation at a site of tissue injury. Daily treatment with anti-c-fms or control antibody was given to mice with renal ...

PURPOSE: Local proliferation of macrophages has been reported to augment the inflammatory response in various human and experimental diseases. Macrophage accumulation in the submucosa is also an important feature in the pathogenesis of ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (OCP). In the present study, the role of local proliferation of macrophages in conjunctiva ...

Immune response is the major contributor to host defense against opportunistic fungal infections such as candidiasis, aspergillosis and other rare infections. A number of cytokines have been developed and studied in vitro for activity against fungal pathogens. The most studied among them in relation to fungal infections are granulocyte colony-stimulating ...

Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is characterized by filling of the alveoli with a periodic acid-Schiff-positive proteinaceous material. Although the pathogenesis of primary or idiopathic PAP remains unknown, it has been proposed that a deficiency or loss of responsiveness of the monocyte/macrophage lineage to granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is involved ...

Granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (G-Csf) and granulocyte-macrophagecolony-stimulating factor (GM-Csf) were each given concurrently with continuous infusion of doxorubicin, ifosphamide, or vinorelbine. Both cytokines enabled the dose intensity of these three anti-tumor agents to be substantially increased without an increase in drug toxicity. The effect of Gm-Csf as a stimulant of dendritic cell ...

Human monocytes differentiate into dendritic cells (DCs) or macrophages according to the nature of environmental signals. Monocytes stimulated with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) plus interleukin 4 (IL-4) yield DCs. We tested here whether interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), a potent activator of macrophages, may modulate monocyte differentiation. Addition of IFN-gamma to IL-4 plus ...

This study was undertaken to investigate the role of cytokines in intrauterine contraception. Cervical mucus samples were obtained from 20 women with proven fertility 7, 14, 30, and 120 days after insertion of copper-T380 intrauterine devices (IUDs) for the determination of interleukin-2 (IL-2) soluble receptor (IL-2SR) and granulocyte macrophage colony ...

The interactions of Neisseria meningitidis with cells of the leptomeninges are pivotal events in the progression of bacterial leptomeningitis. An in vitro model based on the culture of human meningioma cells was used to investigate the role of the leptomeninges in the inflammatory response. Following challenge with meningococci, meningioma cells ...

The sharp increase in the prevalence of asthma over the past three decades suggests an important contribution of environmental factors in the generation of this disease, and compels a search for molecular pathways by which such factors could facilitate Th2 immune-inflammatory airway responses; granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) might be one ...

Infection by maedi-visna virus, a lentivirus of sheep, leads to chronic inflammatory reactions of various tissues. In this report we have analysed the role of specific cytokines in the disease process. A significant increase in expression of interleukin-6, interleukin-10, granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and transforming growth factor-beta1 mRNA was ...

Significant numbers of patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) develop CNS infection primarily in macrophages and microglial cells. Therefore, the regulation of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection and activation of the brain mononuclear phagocytes subsequent to infection are important areas of investigation. In the current report, we studied ...

Reflux nephropathy (RN) is a major cause of end-stage renal failure in children and young adults. Nitric oxide (NO) is an important mediator of tissue injury and inflammation. NO production is enhanced by hematopoietic growth factor including macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF). M-CSF plays a pivotal role in the development ...

There is substantial evidence that local production of proinflammatory cytokines are very important in host resistance to aspergillosis. Dexamethasone (DEX) down-regulates production of these cytokines by stimulated bronchoalveolar macrophages (BAM) and constitutes a risk factor for aspergillosis. Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) antagonizes DEX suppression of antifungal activity by BAM. Here ...

Exposure to ambient air pollution particles with a diameter of < 10 microm (PM(10)) has been associated with increased cardiopulmonary morbidity and mortality. We postulate that these adverse health effects are related to proinflammatory mediators produced in the lung and released into the circulation where they initiate a systemic inflammatory ...

Endogenous myeloid colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) have demonstrated the ability to enhance the clinical management of immunosuppressed patients with cancer. These agents are associated with significant decreases in chemotherapy-associated infections, antibiotic use, length of hospital stays, and mortality. Two major endogenous recombinant myeloid CSFs currently are being manufactured. Granulocyte macrophage CSF ...

Neutrophil apoptosis represents a crucial step in the mechanisms governing the resolution of neutrophilic inflammation. Several soluble mediators of inflammation modulate neutrophil survival, retarding their apoptosis, whereas neutrophil activation by immune complexes (IC) results in the acceleration of apoptosis. To investigate neutrophil fate at the site of inflammation, we studied ...

OBJECTIVE: Because extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN), a tumor cell-derived protein, induces matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in fibroblasts and because MMPs are important in atheroma formation, we investigated if EMMPRIN was expressed in granulocyte/macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-differentiated human peripheral blood monocytes (HPBM) and macrophage foam cells. In addition, EMMPRIN was studied ...

OBJECTIVES: Oxysterols are hydroxylated derivatives of cholesterol detected in blood, cells, and tissues. They exhibit a number of biologic activities, including inhibition of cellular proliferation and cytotoxicity associated with induction of apoptosis. Given the important regulatory role of apoptosis in hematopoiesis, we investigated the effects of oxysterols on human hematopoietic ...

The receptor for macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) is expressed in monocytes/macrophages and their progenitor cells and stimulates both the growth and development of the blood-cell lineage. Although the specific components positively regulating M-CSF receptor signaling have been relatively well defined, it is now clear that important mechanisms to control the ...

Since the observations in the 1960s that granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) stimulated the proliferation of granulocytic cells in semisolid cultures of bone marrow cells, G-CSF has established itself as a useful clinical agent for increasing levels of neutrophilic granulocytes. However, these early findings did not firmly establish whether G-CSF is ...

Stem cell factor (SCF), an essential growth factor in normal hematopoiesis, exerts potent effects when combined with cytokines. In particular, its synergy with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) results in important biologic responses. These include enhancement of ex vivo long-term expansion of human primitive hematopoietic cells and increased mobilization of peripheral ...

Recent observations have suggested that lentiviruses stimulate the proliferation and activation of microglia. A similar effect within the dense macrophage population of the choroid plexus could have significant implications for trafficking of virus and inflammatory cells into the brain. To explore this possibility, we cultured fetal feline macrophages and examined ...

Macrophages are numerous in the testicular interstitial tissue under normal conditions and increase during inflammation. The mechanisms involved are poorly characterized. Expression of the macrophage-regulating cytokines monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 and macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) was examined in the adult rat testis before and after an i.p. injection of an ...

The innate immune system represents the initial arm of host defense against pathogenic bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Neutrophils, monocytes, and tissue-based macrophages are major cellular components of this system. The potential ability to augment activity of the innate immune system has increased dramatically during the past 2 decades, with the ...

Chronic neutropenia with autoimmune diseases is associated mainly with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as Felty's syndrome or large granular lymphocyte (LGL) leukemia, and with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Recent advances have allowed better understanding regarding the mechanism of neutropenia and improved options for treatment. Target antigens for antineutrophil antibodies have been ...

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) has recently been recognised as a disease of impaired alveolar macrophage function caused by neutralising anti-granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating (anti-GM-CSF) autoantibodies. Subcutaneous recombinant human GM-CSF is a novel treatment for PAP, but its mechanism of action is unclear. METHODS: Clinical, functional, and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) findings ...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has become a critical public health problem worldwide. In Taiwan, it has been estimated that more than 300,000 people, 2% of the general population, have HCV infection. It has been well documented that direct delivery of gene intramuscularly can generate both humoral and cellular immunity, ...

Brucella species are gram-negative, facultative intracellular bacteria that infect humans and animals. These organisms can survive and replicate within a membrane-bound compartment inside professional and nonprofessional phagocytic cells. Inhibition of phagosome-lysosome fusion has been proposed as a mechanism for intracellular survival in both types of cells. We have previously shown ...

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is a cytokine which stimulates the production of neutrophils in the bone marrow and modulates cellular functions of mature neutrophils. Besides neutrophils and their precursors, monocytes are direct target cells of G-CSF action. G-CSF influences monocyte functions in an anti-inflammatory way: The stimulation of monocytes with ...

Converging evidence that G-CSF, the hemopoietic growth factor of the myeloid lineage, also exerts anti-inflammatory and pro-Th2 effects, prompted us to evaluate its direct therapeutic potential in autoimmune diseases. Here we report a novel activity of G-CSF in experimental allergic encephalomyelitis, a murine model for multiple sclerosis, driven by Th1-oriented ...

Granulocytopenia is thought to be the sole mechanism underlying the increased susceptibility to bacterial infection in hosts with anticancer chemotherapy. Little is known about the functional state of tissue macrophage populations in such hosts. Using a model of chemotherapy-induced leukopenia, the number and function of alveolar macrophages (AMS) were examined ...

Cytokine-stimulated vascular smooth muscle cells release the colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) granulocyte macrophage-CSF and granulocyte-CSF. We have investigated the effects of a range of cytokines on the release of CSFs from human vascular smooth muscle cells stimulated with interleukin-1beta. Interleukin-4 suppressed granulocyte macrophage-CSF release but potentiated granulocyte-CSF release; interferon-gamma inhibited the ...

The receptors FcgammaRIIIb and FcgammaRIIa for the Fc portion of IgG are naturally expressed in polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN). Autoantibodies (Ab) against FcgammaRIIIb exist in patients with non-organ-specific disease. These may be categorized, based on the results of an indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) test for the detection of anti-membrane-bound FcgammaRIIIb autoAbs, and ...

Murine peritoneal macrophages in vitro could kill Aspergillus fumigatus conidia, and this activity could be suppressed with dexamethasone. Treatment with granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) alone did not boost killing, but GM-CSF treatment concurrently with dexamethasone reversed the dexamethasone suppression. Both recombinant human and recombinant murine GM-CSF were equivalent in this ...

The effects of erythropoietin and recombinant cytokines (G-CSF, SCF, IL-3 and GM-CSF) on colony formation and self-renewal by erythroid burst-forming units (BFU-E) and granulocyte-macrophage progenitors (CFU-GM) from mobilized peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs) of the normal donors and patients were investigated. To better understand how combinations of the cytokines may ...

The antifungal activity of voriconazole (VCZ) was tested against Cryptococcus neoformans (Cn) with and without the addition of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN), monocytes or monocyte-derived macrophages (MDM) in vitro. Human effector cells with and without the addition of VCZ were incubated with Cn for 24 h. PMN, mono and MDM alone ...

Leukocytes are central in directing host inflammatory and immune processes; therefore, leukocyte response to biomaterials is extremely important. Although several leukocyte-derived molecules are used clinically, the long-term efficacy of treatments involving the systemic administration of these bioactive agents has yet to be demonstrated. Hence, the localized delivery of selected cytokines ...

The alveolar macrophage (AM) has a central role in lung homeostasis and host defense of the lung by virtue of its role in clearance of surfactant and microbial pathogens as well as regulation of the acquired pulmonary immunity. Because Granulocyte Monocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF), a hematological growth factor modulates a ...

The granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) combines hematopoietic and anti-inflammatory properties. This makes it an interesting therapeutic option to leverage the immune response by exploiting natural endogenous mechanisms. This strategy may be employed to prime the immune system before an insult or to reactivate the burnt-out immune system, i.e. in the ...

Background: Since infection remains the major complication of immunosuppressive therapy in organ transplantation, reconstitution of the innate immunity against infections, without activation of the acquired immune response, in order to prevent graft rejection, is a clinically desirable status in transplant recipients. This study investigates the reconstitution potential of GM-CSF in ...

Staphylococcus aureus strains lacking agr- and sarA-dependent gene products or specific MSCRAMM (microbial surface components recognizing adhesive matrix molecules) adhesins were compared for the ability to activate inflammatory responses in the lung. The mutants were evaluated for virulence in a mouse model of pneumonia and by quantifying their ability to ...

The mechanisms underlying cell death following traumatic brain injury (TBI) are not fully understood. Apoptosis is believed to be one mechanism contributing to a marked and prolonged neuronal cell loss following TBI. Recent data suggest a role for Fas (APO-1, CD95), a type I transmembrane receptor glycoprotein of the nerve ...

BACKGROUND: The sentinel lymph node (SLN) draining the primary melanoma is the first echelon node where micrometastasis is established. SLNs may be the initial sites of antigen presentation associated with immune responses. METHODS: A portion of each SLN from 68 melanoma patients undergoing selective SLN dissection was processed for enzyme-linked ...

BACKGROUND: Neutrophils die by apoptosis, and in vivo administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) delays this apoptotic cell death. G-CSF administered in vitro correlates delayed apoptosis with upregulation of the vacuolar proton ATPase (v-ATPase). Because this enzyme requires assembly of membrane and cytosolic domains to function, we hypothesized that in ...

As the applications of hematopoietic growth factors increase, their complex impact on host defense and immune responses continues to unfold. The effect of the administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) on bacterial defense, proliferation of lymphocytes, and cytokine production by lymphocytes and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was studied. The ...

Prenatal exposure to teratogen agents is linked to the pathogenesis of neurodevelopment disorders, but the mechanisms leading to the neurodevelopmental disturbance are poorly understood. To elucidate this, an in vitro model of microglial activation induced by neuronal injury has been characterized. In this connection, exposure of primary microglial cells to ...

Cloned T9 glioma cells (T9-C2) expressing the membrane form of macrophage colony stimulating factor (mM-CSF) inoculated subcutaneously into rats do not grow and glioma-specific immunity is stimulated. Immunotherapy experiments showed that intracranial T9 tumors present for one to four days could be successfully eradicated by peripheral vaccination with T9-C2 cells. ...

Granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is one of the most widely used growth factors for enhancing immune responses and is known to recruit and activate antigen-presenting cells (APCs). This study hypothesized that overexpression of this cytokine within the pancreatic beta-cells would recruit, expand, and activate APCs. The question was whether ...

Recent studies in transgenic mice have revealed important insights into the roles of GM-CSF in regulation of surfactant homeostasis and lung host defense. Interruption of the GM-CSF signaling pathway by targeted ablation of the GM-CSF gene or its receptor (GM(-/-) or GM Rbetac(-/-) mice, respectively) resulted in pulmonary alveolar proteinosis ...