View source for Colony-stimulating factor

{{short description|Family of proteins}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2017}}

'''Colony-stimulating factors''' ('''CSFs''') are secreted [[glycoprotein]]s that bind to receptor proteins on the surfaces of committed progenitors<ref>{{Cite book |title=Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease |date=2021 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-323-53113-9 |editor-last=Kumar |editor-first=Vinay |edition=10th |location=Philadelphia, PA |pages=584 |editor-last2=Abbas |editor-first2=Abul K. |editor-last3=Aster |editor-first3=Jon C. |editor-last4=Turner |editor-first4=Jerrold R. |editor-last5=Perkins |editor-first5=James A. |editor-last6=Robbins |editor-first6=Stanley L. |editor-last7=Cotran |editor-first7=Ramzi S.}}</ref> in the bone marrow, thereby activating [[intracellular signaling]] pathways that can cause the cells to [[cell growth|proliferate]] and [[cellular differentiation|differentiate]] into a specific kind of [[blood cell]] (usually [[white blood cells]].  For red blood cell formation, see [[erythropoietin]]).

They may be synthesized and administered exogenously. However, such molecules can at a latter stage be detected, since they differ slightly from the endogenous ones in, e.g., features of [[post-translational modification]].

==Etymology==
The name "colony-stimulating factors" comes from the method by which they were discovered.

Hematopoietic stem cells were cultured (see [[cell culture]]) on a so-called semisolid matrix, which prevents cells from moving around, so that, if a single cell starts proliferating, all of the cells derived from it will remain clustered around the spot in the matrix where the first cell was originally located.  These are referred to as "colonies".  Therefore, it was possible to add various substances to cultures of hemopoietic stem cells and then examine which kinds of colonies (if any) were "stimulated" by them.

The substance that was found to stimulate formation of colonies of [[macrophages]], for instance, was called [[macrophage colony-stimulating factor]], for granulocytes, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor, and so on.

== Mechanism==
The colony-stimulating factors are soluble (permeable), in contrast to other, membrane-bound substances of the [[hematopoietic microenvironment]]. This is sometimes used as the definition of CSFs. They transduce by [[paracrine]], [[endocrine]], or [[autocrine]] signaling.

==Examples==
Colony-stimulating factors include:
* {{Gene|CSF1}} – [[macrophage colony-stimulating factor]]
* {{Gene|CSF2}} – [[Granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor]]s (also called GM-CSF and [[sargramostim]])
* {{Gene|CSF3}} – [[Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor]]s (also called G-CSF and [[filgrastim]])
* [[Interleukin 3]]
* Synthetic – [[Promegapoietin]]

== Clinical uses ==
* Bone marrow stimulation
* Stem cell mobilization

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
* {{cite book | first=Bruce | last=Alberts | year=2002 | title=Molecular Biology of the Cell | edition=4th | publisher=Garland Science | location=New York, NY | isbn=0-8153-4072-9 |display-authors=etal.}}

==External links==
* {{MeshName|Colony-Stimulating+Factors}}

{{Glycoproteins}}
{{Growth factors}}
{{Cytokines}}
{{Colony-stimulating factors}}
{{Growth factor receptor modulators}}
{{Cytokine receptor modulators}}
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[[Category:Cytokines]]


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