Mobilizing Cells With A Tolerogenic Phenotype Using Pegylated Recombinant Murine GM-CSF: In Vitro And In Vivo Effects

Abstract

Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is a growth factor regulating proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Murine GM-CSF (mGM-CSF) has a very short half-life and pegylation of mGM-CSF (peg-mGM-CSF) has been shown to prolong its half-life. Based on our clinical observations that patients transplanted with stem cell products mobilized by GM-CSF have a lower incidence of acute GvHD, we hypothesized that peg-mGM-CSF may be protective of acute GvHD in a MHC mismatched murine model.