Purified colony-stimulating factors enhance the survival of human neutrophils and eosinophils in vitro: a rapid and sensitive microassay for colony-stimulating factors.

The survival of purified human blood neutrophils and eosinophils was monitored using microwell cultures. Survival was enhanced in cultures containing human or murine colony-stimulating factors (CSFs). The survival of both cell types was enhanced by purified recombinant human granulocyte-macrophage CSF and partially purified preparations of the native molecule, CSF alpha. Neutrophil but not eosinophil survival was enhanced by murine granulocyte-CSF and its human analogue CSF beta. Eosinophil but not neutrophil survival was enhanced by murine eosinophil differentiation factor (eosinophil CSF). The mature cell survival provided an assay system for CSF that was 10(2) to 10(3) more sensitive than the standard assay of stimulation of colony formation in agar cultures and could be completed within 48 hours. These results demonstrated that CSF induced and enhanced survival of mature human neutrophils and eosinophils in vitro. Furthermore, the lineage specificity of purified murine CSFs was retained in their action on human cells.