GM-CSF: A Promising Target in Inflammation and Autoimmunity

• Published in: ImmunoTargets and therapy Vol. 9; pp. 225 - 240
• Main Authors: Lee, Kevin MC, Achuthan, Adrian A, Hamilton, John A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Zealand Dove Medical Press Limited 01.01.2020; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Dove; Dove Medical Press
• Subjects: Analysis; Antigen presentation; Arthritis; Autoimmune diseases; Autoimmunity; B cells; Biology; Bone marrow; Chemokines; Clinical trials; Clonal deletion; Colony-stimulating factor; Cytokines; Cytotoxicity; Dimethyl fumarate; Disease; gm-csf; Granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor; Health aspects; Infections; Inflammation; Kinases; Leukocytes (granulocytic); Lymphocytes; Macrophages; Myeloid cells; Neutrophils; Osteoprogenitor cells; Review; Rheumatoid arthritis; Rheumatoid factor; therapeutic; therapeutic; autoimmunity; GM-CSF; inflammation
• ISSN: 2253-1556; 2253-1556
• DOI: 10.2147/ITT.S262566

The cytokine, granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), was firstly identified as being able to induce in vitro the proliferation and differentiation of bone marrow progenitors into granulocytes and macrophages. Much preclinical data have indicated that GM-CSF has a wide range of functions across different tissues in its action on myeloid cells, and GM-CSF deletion/depletion approaches indicate its potential as an important therapeutic target in several inflammatory and autoimmune disorders, for example, rheumatoid arthritis. In this review, we discuss briefly the biology of GM-CSF, raise some current issues and questions pertaining to this biology, summarize the results from preclinical models of a range of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders and list the latest clinical trials evaluating GM-CSF blockade in such disorders.