title: High serum levels of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor in patients with liver cirrhosis and granulocytopenia.
abstract: Leucopenia is often observed in patients with liver cirrhosis. We measured levels of serum granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in patients with liver cirrhosis by a sensitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Eight out of 22 patients with liver cirrhosis had detectable serum GM-CSF (range, 55 to 245 pg/ml:mean, 135 pg/ml). Serum GM-CSF was detected in all patients with a granulocyte count below 2.0 x 10(9)/l, but in only one patient with a granulocyte count above 2.0 x 10(9)/l. Haemoglobin concentration, platelet count, serum albumin, total bilirubin and aminotransferase levels did not correlate with serum GM-CSF levels. These findings may reflect a feedback mechanism between the number of circulating granulocytes and serum GM-CSF levels in patients with cirrhosis.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kubota
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Okamura
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Omori
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimoda
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Otsuka
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishibashi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Niho
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000380:Agranulocytosis / Q000097:blood*; D001772:Blood Cell Count; D005260:Female; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000097:blood*; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor