Recombinant methionyl human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor for the prevention and treatment of non-neutropenic infectious diseases.

Recombinant methionyl human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (r-metHuG-CSF, hereafter G-CSF) has been demonstrated in clinical trials to be effective in correcting iatrogenic neutropenia by stimulating the production of neutrophils. Not surprisingly, G-CSF has also been found to induce neutrophilia in non-neutropenic hosts. Experimental data suggest that G-CSF leads to the enhancement of neutrophil function. Endogenous G-CSF levels are elevated over a broad spectrum of serious infectious diseases, suggesting the clinical importance of G-CSF in these settings. These findings have stimulated research on the use of G-CSF alone or as an adjunct to conventional antimicrobial therapy in a number of non-neutropenic animal models of infections. In total these studies suggest that G-CSF may be useful in the prevention or therapy of infections in both non-neutropenic and neutropenic clinical settings.