Treatment with recombinant granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor (FilgrastinTM) stimulates neutrophils and tissue macrophages and induces an effective non‐specific response against Mycobacterium avium in mice

• Published in: Immunology Vol. 94; no. 3; pp. 297 - 303
• Main Authors: BERMUDEZ, L. E., PETROFSKY, M., STEVENS, P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Science Ltd 01.07.1998; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Animals; Drug Administration Schedule; Female; Filgrastim; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor - therapeutic use; Interleukin-10 - biosynthesis; Interleukin-12 - biosynthesis; Liver - microbiology; Macrophage Activation; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Mycobacterium avium; Neutrophil Activation; Recombinant Proteins; Spleen - immunology; Spleen - microbiology; Tuberculosis - immunology; Tuberculosis - microbiology; Tuberculosis - therapy
• ISSN: 0019-2805; 1365-2567
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2567.1998.00529.x

A role of neutrophils in the host response against Mycobacterium avium (MAC) has recently been suggested. To investigate this matter further, we determined the effect of granulocyte colony‐stimulating factor (G‐CSF) on the outcome of MAC infection in mice. C57BL/6 bg+/bg− black mice were intravenously infected with 1×107 MAC and then divided into four experimental groups to receive G‐CSF as follows: (i) 10 μg/kg/day; (ii) 50 μg/kg/day; (iii) 100 μg/kg/day; (iv) placebo control. Mice were killed at 2 and 4 weeks of treatment to determine the bacterial load of liver and spleen. Treatment with G‐CSF at both 10 and 50 μg/kg/day doses significantly decreased the number of viable bacteria in liver and spleen after 2 weeks (≈70·5% and 69·0%, respectively), and after 4 weeks (≈53% and 52%, respectively, P<0·05 compared with placebo control). Treatment with 100 μg/kg/day did not result in decrease of bacterial colony‐forming units in the liver and spleen after 4 weeks. Administration of G‐CSF induced interleukin‐10 (IL‐10) and IL‐12 production by splenocytes. To examine if the protective effect of G‐CSF was accompanied by the activation of phagocytic cells, blood neutrophils and splenic macrophages were purified from mice receiving G‐CSF and their ability to kill MAC was examined ex vivo. Neutrophils and macrophages from G‐CSF‐treated mice were able to inhibit the growth of or to kill MAC ex vivo, while phagocytic cells from untreated control mice had no anti‐MAC effect. These results suggest that activation of neutrophils appears to induce an effective non‐specific host defence against MAC, and further studies should aim for better understanding of the mechanisms of protection.