Effect of recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor on the hemopoietic progenitor cells from patients with AIDS.

Derangement of the hemopoietic progenitor cells has been observed in the majority of patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). In this study the effect of recombinant human GM-CSF was evaluated for the in vitro growth of hemopoietic progenitor cells from the bone marrow of patients with AIDS. A significant reduction of growth (mean +/- SEM) of CFU-GEMM (2.5 +/- 1.2), BFU-E (23 +/- 9), and CFU-GM (55 +/- 21) was found in AIDS patients in comparison to normal controls. There was a linear correlation between the number of CFU-GM growing in vitro after stimulation with rh GM-CSF as compared to medium conditioned by phytohemagglutinin-stimulated leukocytes (PHA-LCM). However, CFU-GM from patients with AIDS appear to need higher concentrations of rh GM-CSF for maximal growth.