CSF & Receptors

Colony-stimulating factors (CSFs), originally defined as haematopoietic cell growth factors, are the master regulators of granulocyte and macrophage populations. There are four distinct types of CSF: granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and multipotential colony-stimulating factor (multi-CSF, most commonly termed IL-3). CSFs stimulate the growth and differentiation of hematopoietic precursor cells from various lineages, including granulocytes, macrophages, eosinophils and erythrocytes.