Increased serum human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) levels following intravenous infusion of high-dose methylprednisolone

Abstract

Serum granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) levels were measured for 24 h in 6 patients with hematological disorders and two patients with Graves' disease associated with malignant exophthalmos after iv infusion of high-dose methylprednisolone (HDMP) (20 mg/kg BW) for 2 h starting at 0900 h. Saline solution (500 ml) was infused iv for 2 h as a control on two days before starting the HDMP therapy. Serum G-CSF levels increased with the mean peak values at 4 h after the HDMP therapy (mean ± SD: 488.1 ± 125.8 pg/ml vs. saline control 74.4 ± 21.9 pg/ml, P<0.01). Circulating absolute neutrophil counts (ANC) also increased with the mean peak values at 24 h after the HDMP (6,057 ± 1,460/μl vs. saline control 2,007 ± 390/μl, P<0.025). These findings indicate that glucocorticoid has a stimulating effect on G-CSF release and that the increased G-CSF release could be involved, at least partly, in neutrophilia induced by glucocorticoid.