Dexamethasone (DEX) is a potent immunosuppressive agent used in the treatment of several disorders. However, despite its beneficial effects, DEX puts patients at risk for opportunistic infections, especially pulmonary aspergillosis. Previously we reported that in vitro granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) blocks the immunosuppressive action of DEX on bronchoalveolar macroph...

It is well established that protein malnutrition (PM) impairs immune defenses and increases susceptibility to infection. Macrophages are cells that play a central role in innate immunity, constituting one of the first barriers against infections. Macrophages produce several soluble factors, including cytokines and growth factors, important to the immune response. Among those growth factors, gra...

Interleukin (IL)-1 b stimulates the release of granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) from lung epithelial cells. To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying GM-CSF regulation, we studied GM-CSF production, messenger RNA (mRNA) expression levels, and GM-CSF promoter activity in A549 human alveolar carcinoma cells stimulated with IL-1 b . Coincubation with IL-4 or IL-13...

BACKGROUND Disruption of granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) signalling causes pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP). Rarely, genetic defects in neonatal or infant-onset PAP have been identified in CSF2RA. However, no report has clearly identified any function-associated genetic defect in CSF2RB. METHODS AND RESULTS The patient was diagnosed with PAP at the age of 36 and ...

G-CSF and GM-CSF are used widely to promote the production of granulocytes or APCs. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved G-CSF (filgrastim) for the treatment of congenital and acquired neutropenias and for mobilization of peripheral hematopoietic progenitor cells for stem cell transplantation. A polyethylene glycol-modified form of G-CSF is approved for the treatment of neutropenias. ...

Immunological functions were analyzed in mice lacking granulocyteymacrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). The response of splenic T cells to alloantigens, anti-mouse CD3 mAb, interleukin 2 (IL-2), or concanavalin A was comparable in GM-CSF 1y1 and GM-CSF 2y2 mice. To investigate the responses of CD81 and CD41 T cells against exogenous antigens, mice were immunized with ovalbumin peptide ...

GM-CSF promotes the functional maturation of lung alveolar macrophages (A-MØ), whose differentiation is dependent on the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) transcription factor. In fact, blockade of GM-CSF-initiated signaling or deletion of the PPARγ-encoding gene PPARG leads to functionally defective A-MØ and the onset of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. In vitro, macropha...

Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), a glycoprotein with hormonal properties, is produced by several cell types, most of which exist outside the CNS. GM-CSF, however, affects the CNS. If capable of crossing from blood to CNS, GM-CSF might be an important signalling molecule between the CNS and periphery. We used an established in vivo method in mice and rats to study passa...

The multipotent cytokine granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is involved in particular in the physiological response to infection and in inflammatory responses. GM-CSF is produced by many cell types, including T lymphocytes responding to T-cell receptor activation and mantle zone B lymphocytes. B-cell receptor and T-cell receptor activation generates two major signals: an ...

Crohn's Disease (CD) afflicts over half a million Americans with an annual economic impact exceeding $10 billion. Granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) can increase patient immune responses against intestinal microbes that promote CD and has been effective for some patients in clinical trials. We have made important progress toward developing GM-CSF variants that could be mo...