Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF) was initially characterized as a growth factor that can support the in vitro colony formation of granulocyte-macrophage progenitors. It is produced by a number of different cell types (including activated T cells, B cells, macrophages, mast cells, endothelial cells and fibroblasts) in response to cytokine of immune and inflammatory stimuli. Besides granulocyte-macrophage progenitors, GM-CSF is also a growth factor for erythroid, megakaryocyte and eosinophil progenitors. On mature hematopoietic, monocytes/ macrophages and eosinophils. GM-CSF has a functional role on non-hematopoitic cells. It can induce human endothelial cells to migrate and proliferate. Additionally, GM-CSF can also stimulate the proliferation of a number of tumor cell lines, including osteogenic sarcoma, carcinoma and adenocarcinoma cell lines.
