Effect of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor treatment on ex vivo blood cytokine response in human volunteers

We explored the ex vivo alteration in the cytokine release of stimulated blood taken from healthy volunteers treated subcutaneously with 480 micrograms granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). In a double-blind, controlled, randomized study with 21 volunteers who received G-CSF once or twice 24 hours apart, we measured lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-inducible release of various cytokines and soluble receptors at different times after treatment. At day 1 after a single dose of G-CSF, mediator release was also initiated with muramyl dipeptide, Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxin A, lipoteichoic acid, streptolysin O, complement factor C5a, phytohemagglutinin, or phorbol myristate acetate. In blood from G-CSF-treated subjects, our major findings were (1) a maximal 12-fold increase in interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) release and an increase of both the p55 and p75 soluble tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptors; (2) a reduction in TNF release when using all the various stimuli described except LPS; (3) an increase in G-CSF and, to lesser extent, in IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 release; and (4) an attenuation of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) and granulocyte-macrophage (GM)-CSF release. Our findings demonstrate that the major effect of G-CSF treatment is a change in the responsiveness of blood towards a variety of stimuli, which we interpret as a shift toward an antiinflammatory cytokine response.