Signalling through CSF receptors.

The finely regulated process of blood cell formation is under the control of a family of glycoprotein hormones, known as colony-stimulating factors (CSFs), and their receptors. The complexity of the intracellular mechanisms involved in the action of such factors has been appreciated only recently. In this review, Gino Vairo and John Hamilton discuss the biochemistry of CSF action and its relevance to growth control, and examine the possibility that different CSFs may use common control pathways within the one cell type.